If there is one thing that Oregon football is nationally known for, besides its flashy jerseys, it’s the team’s speedy offense.
With a new coaching staff, players have to adjust to different coaching styles and philosophies. However, one thing that seems certain to remain with this new regime is the identity of Oregon’s offense.
“There’s a lot of different things that we’ve got to get used to as far as speaking their language and knowing their style of offense,” running back Tony Brooks-James said. “But at the end of the day, it’s still ball. So, we line up and just play football.”
Over the past decade, Oregon was known for its quick-footed quarterbacks. From Dennis Dixon, Jeremiah Masoli and Darron Thomas to Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota and graduate transfer Vernon Adams Jr., Oregon had pace at quarterback.
Justin Herbert, who is set to be the starting quarterback for Oregon in his sophomore season, may not have the same foot-speed. What Herbert does have is a quick release and the ability to control a hurry-up offense that the Ducks will remain in this season.
“I would say the emphasis is on going fast,” Herbert said. “We’ve got so many plays that are trying to get the ball to the fast guys and let them make plays. So my job is to just distribute the ball and get it to the fast guys and let them take care of it.”
Oregon Ducks quarterback Justin Herbert (10) breaks a run in the second half. The Oregon Ducks host the Stanford Cardinal at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore. on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2016. (Eric Cech/Emerald)
Herbert, who became the starter as a freshman in the 2016 season, worked on his physique in the offseason and even spoke with Marcus Mariota about keeping calm in difficult circumstances on the field.
“He’s just changed,” Taggart said. “Whether it’s in the weight room, competing with the other guys, he’s gained about 15 pounds from last year. Justin’s walking outside with his shirt off now, and if you all know Justin, that wasn’t him before.”
Oregon’s main source of speed comes from its running backs. Brooks-James, whose acceleration burns opposing defenses, says that the team will maintain a “speed-spread offense” and will remain “fast-tempo.”
“He wants our tempo to be faster and things like that,” Brooks-James said of head coach Willie Taggart.
Taggart understands the importance of the running game for the Ducks. He knows that a good running game can make the difference between a winning football program and a losing one.
“I think the ground game has always been the strong point of Oregon football,” Taggart said. “I don’t see that being any different. If you look at any winning football team out there, especially championship football teams, they do a great job running the football.”
Donte Pimpleton is the running backs coach. He played with Taggart at Western Kentucky where the two later coached together prior to moving to South Florida.
Pimpleton has prioritized one part of Oregon’s running game: vision.
“He’s taught us about the game more on how to read defenses, how to read rotations and who’s coming and who’s who,” Brooks-James said. “We’ve definitely emphasized that and it’s helped my game a lot.”
Oregon possesses a plethora of running backs with different skill sets, including three freshmen: Darrian Felix, CJ Verdell and Cyrus Habibi-Likio.
“Felix is more of a speed guy, CJ is a hard runner, staying low to the ground,” Brooks-James said. “Cyrus, he reminds me a lot of Thomas Tyner. Just his body structure, and how he looks in his pads. He runs hard.”
Of course, there are returners too, including Brooks-James, senior Royce Freeman and redshirt senior Kani Benoit. Freeman’s return means the Ducks will have one of the strongest group of running backs in the country, and Taggart has high hopes for Freeman’s senior year.
“I tell you what, Royce has some speed,” Taggart said. “It’s pretty cool to have a guy that’s big and strong that can run some people over and run away from people too. Royce reminds me a lot of Toby Gerhart.”
Gerhart, a former Stanford running back who was a Heisman Trophy runner-up in 2009, is quite the comparison for Freeman.
Freeman and the running backs need the help of their teammates to get them into open space. This comes down to the offensive line, which will have more experience than it had last year when the group was made up primarily of redshirt freshmen.
“I think it’s awesome to have so many guys, so many options,” Herbert said. “The o-line is interchangeable. You need to have more than just five guys to play. I’ve got complete confidence in the guys that are the back ups, guys like George Moore and Brady [Aiello]—those guys are ready.”
The ground game should be used more often for the Ducks this season after Oregon lost a large chunk of their wide receiver depth. Because of this, the offensive line’s importance to a successful Oregon offense can’t be understated.
“It’s like coach [Pimpleton] says,” Brooks-James said. “‘If you know where a block’s supposed to be, and is going to be, then you can float to the hole because that’s where the hole is supposed to be.’”
Oregon Ducks running back Royce Freeman (21) performs an agility drill as running backs coach Donte Pimpleton looks on.The Oregon Ducks hold practice during their spring season at the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex practice fields in Eugene, Ore. on Monday, April 17, 2017. (Aaron Nelson/Emerald)
The loss of Darren Carrington, who was dismissed from the program after a DUII in July, looms large on Oregon
Charles Nelson, who has the most experience of the wide receivers, returns. Sophomore Dillon Mitchell will have to step up while Taj Griffin and Brenden Schooler transition to receivers from running back and safety, respectively.
With all of this, Oregon’s motive is still speed.
“We’re trying to push the issue to go fast every single play,” Nelson said. “It’s not just to tire out the defense. It makes it hard on the defensive coordinator to get a call in and get their guys lined up and set.”
The Ducks are practicing the high-tempo offense, which Nelson says benefits their defense just as much as it helps the offense.
“I feel like it gets them ready for another team that’s probably going to do that,” Nelson said. “It just gets them ready and lined up and communicating. They have to communicate to get everything in.”
Taggart has confidence in the pace of the offense and he doesn’t have any plans to change the team’s strategy.
“We just want to go fast,” Taggart said. “It doesn’t matter the time or anything. We want to go fast. There will be times we don’t go fast. We’ve got to dictate when we want to go fast in our offense but we definitely don’t want to be slow.”
Follow Shawn Medow on Twitter @ShawnMedow
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