EUGENE, Ore. — Last week, Oregon wide receiver Justius Lowe made his first career start as the Ducks beat the Purdue Boilermakers 35-0 on the road. This week, Lowe caught his first career touchdown — a 34-yard strike from quarterback Dillon Gabriel — as No. 1 Oregon took down No. 20 Illinois 38-9.
"I was just super in the moment, super excited," Lowe said of his first-quarter score. "Just all the hard work and preparation throughout the years I've been here is finally starting to pay off."
Coming out of high school, Lowe was rated as a four-star prospect and the second-best player in the state of Oregon. Initially committed to play for Kyle Whittingham at Utah, Lowe flipped his commitment to the Ducks after they hired Georgia defensive coordinator Dan Lanning to be their new head coach that winter.
"I was committed to Utah but then I got a call from Lanning after he had won a national championship," he said. "He FaceTimed me and it was kinda just that connection right there, him winning a national championship but then him actually making time for me… We just took off from there."
Lowe utilized a redshirt during his first year on campus in Eugene before playing in four games last season, totaling 45 snaps between receiver and special teams.
He caught three passes for 11 yards across the Ducks' first five games this season, playing primarily as Tez Johnson's backup in the slot. But in the biggest game of the year to that point against Ohio State, Lowe was thrust into action on the outside after starter Traeshon Holden was ejected for spitting on an opponent. He caught one pass for nine yards, playing a career-high 51 snaps while making a few key blocks down the stretch of the win.
"Just knowing that if you keep your head in the playbook, you execute in practice, and all that," Lowe said of how he stayed prepared for Lanning going to him off the bench. "If you're ready, you're ready, and he's gonna play you."
Last week, with Holden facing internal punishment from the team, Lowe made his first start, hauling in two catches for 28 yards. Even with Holden active for Saturday's contest with Illinois, Lanning trusted Lowe to get the start against a top-25 opponent.
"We put him on the field, we know he's gonna do his job, do his assignment," Lanning said of Lowe. "He executes it really well. Probably one of our best route runners so really proud of his progression and his growth in our offense."
Gabriel missed Lowe on the Ducks' first possession, but on their second drive, Lowe beat his man inside on a skinny post and Gabriel was able to find him over the middle for six.
"It was like, 'OK, there's a dude in front of me and I just gotta run by him', and then the ball's gonna come," Lowe said of his score. "I just kinda did just that then I was just in the end zone.
"We practice a lot, even just not even in our scheduled practices but even outside of that, just making sure me and him just get on the same page with a lot of the routes and concepts that we run," he said of his connection with Gabriel. "Just taking it to the next level with him and making sure that me and him are just making the right reads so we can get the ball downfield."
On Oregon's final drive before the half, Gabriel found Lowe again, this time on a comeback route that forced Lowe to make a strong hands catch over a closing defender before being tackled at the 12-yard line. The Ducks would score two plays later on a pass to running back Noah Whittington to go into halftime up 35-3.
"J-Lowe's a great guy. I think from a physical standpoint he's explosive, he's fast," Gabriel said of Lowe. "But I think from a mental side just how smart he is, his route running ability, him understanding coverage."
Gabriel and Lowe couldn't hook up on either of his two second-half targets, ending Lowe's career day with two receptions for 51 yards and a score.
"Justius made plays today that it was normal, he does it every day," Johnson said of his teammate. "Justius is one of those guys that is one of the better guys in our room that we all look up to, learn from. Just seeing him have success today in the game was really outstanding on his part."
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