CLEVELAND — In just his second week in the NFL, former Great Oak and UCLA standout Demetric Felton Jr. scored his first NFL touchdown. The accolade came on a 33-yard pass from Baker Mayfield. Notably, the spin move he used to break a crucial tackle looked all too familiar to fans that have followed the local standout during his youth days here in the valley. Twitter immediately blew up with comments from his followers, including former Great Oak head coach Robbie Robinson (now coaching at Chaparral).
“It was a proud moment for me to watch,” Robinson said after tweeting a video from Felton’s days at Great Oak where the same spin move led to the same result.
After being caught up in the excitement, Felton nearly lost his precious memento. In his euphoria, Felton threw the ball into the stands. When asked about the mental blunder with the cherished football, he quickly responded, “Oh, yeah, we got it back.”
During training camp, Felton split his time between the running back and wide receiver rooms and the impact of the versatile 5-foot-9, 190-pound running back, (a sixth-round pick from UCLA), was the subject of much speculation during training camp. With their 31-21 victory over the Houston Texans this past Sunday, the rookie gave a glimpse of the dynamic playmaker he might become.
Along with the TD, which was Mayfield’s first scoring toss of the season, Felton caught two passes for 51 yards and contributed 63 return yards, including two kickoffs for 41 yards.
“We had a lot of energy coming out of that touchdown, so I was really happy I was able to be a part of that,” Felton told the media after the game.
With the start of this season being one of the most injury-prone ever in the NFL, Felton’s opportunity came sooner than expected. With veteran receiver Jarvis Landry lost to a knee injury on the Browns’ second play and second-year man Donovan Peoples-Jones fumbling after a 15-yard first quarter catch, Felton was targeted twice in the second half and caught both. His other reception for 18 yards came on a first-down play during the Browns’ 82-yard march to their final touchdown in the fourth quarter.
“His role will grow. He’s a rookie,” Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski stated after the game. “He’s doing a nice job for us as our returner and then we will find opportunities for him. I thought he obviously made an incredible individual effort on that [touchdown] play.”
Felton’s teammates also raved about how he found the end zone.
“It was an amazing play. He broke some tackles and made guys miss,” running back Nick Chubb said. “That’s something I’ve always known he can do, and I’m glad he showed everybody here that he can do it.”
The Browns will be home to face the Chicago Bears Sunday, Sept. 26, at 10 a.m. Chicago is 1-1 on the season after beating the Cincinnati Bengals in Week Two, 20-17.
JP Raineri can be reached by email at sports@reedermedia.com.
