Will Buchanon stepping forward early in Oakland

By Anthony Carroll  |   Wednesday, August 09, 2006  |  Comments( 3 )

Oakland Raiders
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In his four-year career with the USC Trojans, Will Buchanon caught four passes for 15 yards.

In four quarters with the Oakland Raiders, Buchanon matched that reception total.

On Sunday, the young wideout emerged as one of Oakland's few offensive bright spots, exiting the evening as the game's leader in both receptions and yardage. The rookie was one of only two wide receivers to catch a pass for the Raiders, finishing the NFL's preseason unveiling with four catches for 50 yards.

Son of former three-time Pro Bowl defensive back Willie Buchanon, Will attended Oceanside High School in California, hauling in over 90 passes for 1,621 yards and 15 touchdowns with team. Additionally, much like his deployment with USC, the young Buchanon appeared on the defensive side of the ball, chipping in with four interceptions. Off the football field, he was equally impressive, excelling on the track in both short and long distances, as well as triple-jump events.

One of five undrafted wideouts invited to join Oakland in early May, the 23-year-old was used sparingly on the collegiate level. At USC, Buchanon was employed as both a defensive back and wide receiver, seeing the majority of his reps from cornerback. On his career, the tweener exited USC with a stat table highlighted by just four catches and a pair of interceptions.

Instead of being considered as unproductive, however, Buchanon matured as a player known for his versatility and dedication to his team.

In early April, the USC grad ran the 40-yard dash in 4.38 seconds during the team's Pro Day festivities. Standing a lanky 6-foot-3, 185 pounds, Buchanan's 40 time was just five tenths of a second off teammate Reggie Bush's recorded time, who was drafted second overall by the New Orleans Saints. Although not enough to earn him a late-round slot in April's draft, Buchanon's rare combination of both size and speed was enough to catch the eye of Oakland's front office.

In the midst of the Jerry Porter controversy occurring in Napa Valley, Buchanon was working hard in the background. The athletic wideout was on the receiving end of several circus grabs, striving to set himself apart from a mass of talented wide receivers all fighting for an identical spot.

On Sunday, he took a lengthy step ahead of his class of fellow wideouts. Included in that class is veteran Alvis Whitted, along with rookies Jayson Boyd, Rick Gatewood, John Madsen, Kevin McMahon, and Burl Toler. With Porter becoming a mere obstacle and Ronald Curry returning from a series of season-ending injuries, the gap for additional pass catchers has opened wider in Oakland.

On Monday night, the 23-year-old rookie will have yet another nationally televised platform to display his athleticism.

With a performance close to Sunday's, Will Buchanon could inch even closer to a permanent roster spot on the Oakland Raiders.

"They all have a chance to make the team, or they wouldn't be here," said head coach Art Shell.

"Anything can happen in this league."

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Anthony Carroll can be contacted at acarroll@realfootball365.com
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About Anthony Carroll

Anthony Carroll began writing for RealFootball365.com on Sept. 26, 2005, making him one of the longest tenured contributors to the “365” team. As a senior writer, Anthony has taken on the task of delivering original content to the silver and black faithful year round, despite having to deal...
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CommentsComments: 3  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
Bruce Milroy		10:20 AM
08/09/2006
I like seeing the development of Buchanon and Wusu, among other undrafted free agents, but what is our scouting department doing...
No.2
Jeff		03:17 PM
08/09/2006
I enojoyed seeing some Raider football on the box! I knew it was the pre-season and I wasn't expecting perfection but I would've...
No.3
Obi-Wan-Raider		05:10 AM
08/10/2006
Wusu, Buchanon and Riddle all did a bang up job. It did piss me off though the way the hater-ratzis did neglect to mention Philly...
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