MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — A'lique Terry used to be Obie. He's now the offensive line coach for Oregon. And he's about to coach in Obie's game.
That's a full-circle moment.
Let's explain: Oregon's first trip to the Orange Bowl is a homecoming for Terry, who grew up in the Miami suburb of Hialeah. He once was an intern for the Orange Bowl Committee, and one of his tasks was to be Obie — the overstuffed orange that serves as the game's mascot.
On Thursday, with someone else milling about inside the Obie costume, Terry will be trying to help the Ducks make the College Football Playoff semifinals.
“God is real, man,” Terry said Tuesday while at Hard Rock Stadium for Orange Bowl media day, in advance of Thursday's CFP quarterfinal game between Oregon and Texas Tech. “You couldn't write this any better.”
He took a long road home. Terry played his college football at Wake Forest, had to medically retire from football because of concussion-related concerns, then started his coaching days as a quality control coach for the Demon Deacons in 2018.
A year later, former Oregon coach Mario Cristobal — another Miami native, and now the coach of the Hurricanes — made him a graduate assistant on his staff, putting him to work alongside then-Ducks offensive line coach Alex Mirabal, who is also now with the Hurricanes.
Terry moved on to Hawaii, had a brief stint with the Minnesota Vikings and eventually Oregon coach Dan Lanning brought him back to the Ducks.
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Not bad for a guy who used to spend Wednesdays and Saturdays in a mascot costume.
“He's a great story,” Orange Bowl CEO Eric Poms said.
The Orange Bowl is a big part of Terry's football life. He learned about the business side of football working for the committee, remembers working in concession stands just to get to the Orange Bowl as a kid, and grew up playing in some talent-rich South Florida programs. Plus, his father is a longtime high school coach in the Miami area.
If the Ducks keep winning, Terry might be back home soon. The CFP national championship game this season is back at Hard Rock Stadium in about three weeks.
“Oregon's first time in this game and I get to be here for it,” Terry said. “I'm just grateful. Extremely grateful.”
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