By Jeremy McDonald

jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com

SALEM, Ore.–  The Journey of McKay’s Brian Coburn has it’s next chapter location set, and it’s in Southern California.

San Diego to be exact.  The University of San Diego.  A great opportunity Coburn has pointed to as he has a destination beyond this year as a student-athlete.

“This great opportunity that I have been given is the culmination of all the hard work and determination over my school and athletic career,” Coburn said.  “It’s all the times spent showing up first and leaving last in the classroom and on the field. Pushing myself and never settling for anything but the best. I used the same mentality on the field as I did in the classroom to succeed.

“It’s been wonderful to get the opportunity to play at the next level and it’s been a huge goal of mine for my high school career. The best part about it is the fact that I get to play at the next level at the school that will give me the best education I need for my future in engineering. Education has and always will be my number one priority and getting to play football as well makes it even better.”

Coburn was an Honorable Mention defensive lineman for the Scots in 2019 as a Junior as McKay went 2-7 in the tough Mid-Willamette Conference at the 5A level.  The conference saw Silverton and West Albany each reach the 5A State Semifinals before falling to Crater and Thurston respectively.

For someone like Coburn, football has been life.  The quiet Coburn has taken the ‘Man of a few words’-approach to leading, letting his work do the talking while on the gridiron, basketball court or on the Field where he’s been a thrower for the Scots.  For him, football has been a big part of his life.

Handing out water to starting both ways on Friday nights, it’s been an exciting journey Coburn said.

“Even though COVID-19 has ruined many plans that my team had made, we did not let that stop us from improving and working our way to being the best. As I start a new chapter in my life, I know that I am going to miss being on the team,” Coburn said.  “I know that my time is running out. However, I will never forget the friends I made, and the memories will be with me for the rest of my life.

“For me football is only a part of my life that will end one day but I will never stop learning for the rest of my life.”

And like sports, his intended major in Engineering is a learning process.  It challenges you to ride it out and the result at the end of it is something amazing Coburn describes.

“Engineering for me is a process that has hills and valleys, but by staying determined the result is something amazing,” he said.

For now, it’s a waiting game to see what comes of his Senior Year of football this Spring coming off of this past Fall’s 7-on-7 league with his McKay teammates playing as the ‘Northeast Scots’.