Simson Garcia | Sports Editor
“I’ve never seen that much rain in my life,” said Wolves quarterback Nick Duckworth, of experiencing the complete weather difference between here and Arizona, his native home state. Duckworth transferred to Western from Phoenix Community College.
He grew up in Scottsdale, but is now prepared for the new forecast of this here Oregon weather. He’s also prepared to fulfill the position of a starting quarterback for the Wolves football team as he is about to finish his two-year career at Western.
While he prepares for the final stretch, he’s also working on finishing up his degree in economics, with a business minor.
Athletes, too, have a lot to prepare for during a transfer transition. Usually, junior college transfers make that transition between their sophomore year and the start of their junior year at the university they’re transferring to. Duckworth is one of those transfers. He’s also understood, very well, the differences between the two institutions of community college and universities.
“It’s a challenge at first,” said Duckworth. “With the four-year school, there’s more of a social aspect with it.”
Perhaps what makes him more ready and at ease with the transition is based on the fact that he’s not alone, and that that social aspect is present here at Western.
This is the case especially when it comes to his teammates.
“I was worried about getting acclimated with all the guys, but that was the easiest part… and I think we’ve had a lot of junior college transfers as well, so it helps that we’ve been through a lot of the same stuff,” he said.
In fact, according to the Western’s website, 10 players from the Wolves football roster, including Duckworth, are transfers from junior colleges. That shared bond with teammates is something he’ll take with him long after he’s graduated from college.
When asked about what he would carry with him from the experience of playing at Western, Duckworth answered, “definitely the relationship with my teammates. The relationship with those guys, I feel like I’ll have a lot of lifelong relationships with, even though I’ve been here in such a short time.”
In the short amount of time he’s had on the field, he’s amassed 3,121 in passing yardage, and has nearly doubled his touchdown number, from 9 to 16, compared to last year.
Of course, last year he didn’t start a single game and only played six games total. The fact remains that he became ready when his number was called upon.
“Last year,” speaking on his first touchdown on Western soil. “Winter was not fun.”
And the recurring theme here is that he may just be warming up.
Duckworth had said that he would like to continue the profession of football, and wants to turn it into coaching at some point after college.
Speaking on the change from year one to year two, he said it has been quite a shift; “I’ve put on a lot more warmer clothes. I definitely can get used to it. The first year was very tough, but I think I’m more prepared now.”
Duckworth will have another chance to ready himself on senior day, when he and the Wolves look to sweep the season series against Simon Fraser on Nov. 11 — and where they will look to end a tumultuous season on a high note. But he’ll have more chances, during life after Western.
“I love the summers up here,” he said.
And perhaps, after next summer, a shot at the green — the golf course, of course, not the gridiron.
If there was another sport he was as equally as passionate about as football, it’s golf.
“I play golf a lot—that gets my competitive juices flowing,” Duckworth said. “I actually worked at a golf course last summer.”
And his favorite club: “Definitely the driver.”
Taking this into consideration, in the way he uses his club on the course, or his arm on the field, there’s a drive in him towards accomplishing a goal.
Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu
