Storming into the Big Ten, the Ducks are getting a lot of attention. Head coach Dan Lanning and the rest of the staff did a lot of recruiting and acquiring from the transfer portal to build on their strong 12-2 season last year.
One position that might be overshadowed by all the talent on the rest of the team is the running back room. The Oregon Ducks have two hungry running backs with a couple years of experience who will put them in the mix as they join the Big Ten.
The Ducks are working through the loss of their biggest standout running back, Bucky Irving, who was drafted by the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers in April. This season, junior Jordan James is tasked with filling Irving’s shoes after an incredible breakout season of his own last year.
James played in every game and rushed for 759 yards with 11 touchdowns on 107 carries. He averaged 7.09 yards per carry, which led the Pac-12 and ranked No. 10 nationally.
James said going into this season he wants to build on what he’s already good at, show more long speed and to prove that he can “do it all,” just like any other back. He said he believes that no team should ever have to rely on one running back, and he’s excited to bring his teammates in the back field more action so they can ball together and go far.
“I feel like they’re not talking about us enough, but we don’t care about that,” James said. Being moved to the top running back position did not change James’ work ethic, but it did make him attack harder and he’s looking forward to his new role.
Another running back to keep an eye on this season is redshirt junior Noah Whittington.
Whittington only played for a month last season before tearing his ACL in Week 4. In those four games, he had 20 carries for 148 yards and two touchdowns. When he went down, Whittington proved his strong nature when he got up on his own and attempted to limp off the field before the trainers escorted him to the injury tent.
He said the hardest part was the mental piece of sitting out for almost the entire season, but he had a good work ethic in his rehab process.
As hard as it was, Whittington said he’s appreciative that his injury happened, because it reminded him of how much he loves the game.
Another change in Oregon’s running back room is on the coaching staff. Their previous running back coach, Carlos Locklyn, accepted an offer with the Ohio State Buckeyes earlier in the offseason. In the spring, Lanning hired Ra’Shaad Samples to replace Locklyn. Samples was the wide receiver coach at Arizona State in the previous two seasons. Before that, he was the running back coach at Texas Christian University, Southern Methodist University and for the Los Angeles Rams.
James and Whittington both said they have enjoyed working with their new coach and are looking forward to starting the season with him.
Samples said to GoDucks that he is “tremendously excited and grateful to join Dan Lanning and his highly regarded staff at Oregon.” He added that at Oregon he has the opportunity to learn from some of the best minds in football and hopes to add value to the championship culture that Oregon is building.