Oregon two-sport athlete Rodrick Pleasant is back in pads with the football team as the Ducks near the end of the second week of fall camp.

But the Pleasant hasn’t completely checked out of the track and field world.

The Oregon sprinter with world-class speed has been watching the action in Paris — particularly with an eye on American track stars Noah Lyles, Michael Norman and Rai Benjamin — and pondering his own Olympic dreams.

“One day,” he said Monday after football  practice. “It makes my heart spark a little just seeing how fast, and just seeing the enjoyment in everybody.

“I love watching track. I went to all the track meets here. There’s nothing like it. Being able to just watch and know how hard the sport is. It Iooks like it’s just running, but it’s a lot. It’s so technical.”

But for now, the sophomore cornerback is focused on the other sport he loves, and his opportunity with a program ranked No. 3 in the preseason US LBM Coaches Poll and three weeks away from its Aug. 31 season-opener against Idaho.

Pleasant came to Oregon as a consensus four-star recruit out of Serra High School in Gardena, California. He played in seven games as a freshman last fall and finished with four tackles, a forced fumble and a pass breakup.

This fall, he’s trying to find his place in a crowded and competitive defensive backfield room.

“I want to help any way I can,” Pleasant said. “I just want to develop at the end of the day. That’s the biggest thing for me right now. I’m not worried about how everything shakes out. I know it’s a long season and we’re strength in numbers. So that’s the biggest thing. Just being there and being available. Availability is the best ability at the end of the day.”

Pleasant opened fall camp with some catchup to do after he competed in track from January to June with the Ducks and didn’t participate in spring practices with the football team.

“They kept me really up to date with meetings and sending the playbooks, so I don’t think I really missed a lot,” Pleasant said. “I enjoyed running, but (football) being so hands on with meetings and how great and structured it is, it was good for me.”

Pleasant returned to the football offseason program in June and is holding his own this fall, said Chris Hampton, Oregon’s co-defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach.

“I’ve been pleasantly surprised,” Hampton said. “He hasn’t been as far behind as I thought he would be. He came to a lot of the meetings in the spring when he wasn’t with track, so he did a lot of the mental training, just not the physical training. But he’s picked up right where he left off last season and I think he’s got a bright future.”

Not surprisingly, Pleasant lists speed as his greatest attribute in football. He twice set the California high school 100-meter record with a time of 10.14 seconds and has an all-conditions best of 10.09 (+3.3 wind). Days before he moved into his dorm at Oregon in 2023, Pleasant won the Nike Outdoor Nationals at Hayward Field in 10.21.

In his first season at Oregon, his fastest time was 10.38. He was also a member of the Ducks’ 4x100 relay team that placed fourth at the Pac-12 championships.

Those track talents for sure translate to the football field.

“Closing speed is big. I can tell that I run a little,” he said with a smile. “We have some fast guys on the team, actually. Being able to run, being fast is key in our defense. We play fast, we play physical. Just being able to show that I can run sideline to sideline, that I can run with anybody, it’s been good for me.”

As for the future, Pleasant hedged when asked if continuing to be a two-sport athlete is his long-term plan. Last season was hard, he admitted, but it was fun.

“I’m just enjoying it,” he said. “I’ll make the decision when it comes about. I haven’t really put my hands up on anything right now. I‘m just enjoying doing both and living out the dream that I’ve had.”

Follow Chris Hansen on X @chansen_RG or email at chansen@registerguard.com. For more sports coverage, visit registerguard.com.

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Rodrick Pleasant brings a burst of speed to Oregon football