Photo by: Rob Moseley/GoDucks.com
Preseason Camp Preview: RB
07/28/22 | Football, @GoDucksMoseley
Assessing how things stack up for the UO football program entering the start of preseason camp Aug. 5.
RUNNING BACK
Who's back: For the first time since 2017, somebody not named Verdell or Dye will lead Oregon in rushing this fall. The last guy other than those two to lead the Ducks in rushing was Royce Freeman; he carried on the grand tradition of top UO backs who wore No. 21, and there's another on the roster now in Byron Cardwell, who ran for 417 yards as a freshman in 2021. Cardwell is big and explosive, having led the Pac-12 in yards per carry among qualifying backs, at 6.84 yards per carry. Also back is Sean Dollars, coming off a year lost to injury. Dollars was back in action for this spring, and ran for 47 yards in the Spring Game.
The Ducks also returned a couple of big developmental-squad backs, La'Vaughn Luellen and Aaron Smith. Those returners got some company in the spring, with the arrival of Noah Whittington and Kilohana Haasenritter. Whittington was Western Kentucky's rushing leader in 2021, and he led all rushers in the UO Spring Game with 84 yards after joining the Ducks this offseason. Haasenritter is a former two-way prep star from the state of Hawaii who spent the first two years of his collegiate career with his home-state Rainbow Warriors, before arriving in Eugene to participate in spring drills.
Who's new: The depth improved even more over the summer. The 2022 recruiting class included running back Jordan James, who ran for 3,424 yards while helping his high school team in Tennessee go 29-0 and win two state titles the last two years. Also new to the mix is Mar'Keise Irving, who provides more Power 5 experience after running for 699 yards at Minnesota as a freshman last season.
Depth was further enhanced by another transfer, Brison Cobbins, as well as freshmen Ellis Bynum and Preston Alford. Bynum is an in-state prospect from Portland's Central Catholic, while Alford has some athletic genes – his parents were student-athletes at Baylor, and his brother is on the football roster at Texas.
What to watch: The Ducks seemed to be poised to weather the departures of Verdell and Dye as long as Cardwell and Dollars performed up to their potential. But the picture only looks better now, with the competition even more heated given the addition of guys with FBS experience in Whittington and Irving, plus an infusion of young depth from James and the other newcomers.
Right now, how carries will be distributed come September is anyone's guess, making for an exciting and intriguing preseason camp at the position. And the defense should get a heck of a look in practice as well, thanks to the talent that will be available for the developmental squad.
Who's back: For the first time since 2017, somebody not named Verdell or Dye will lead Oregon in rushing this fall. The last guy other than those two to lead the Ducks in rushing was Royce Freeman; he carried on the grand tradition of top UO backs who wore No. 21, and there's another on the roster now in Byron Cardwell, who ran for 417 yards as a freshman in 2021. Cardwell is big and explosive, having led the Pac-12 in yards per carry among qualifying backs, at 6.84 yards per carry. Also back is Sean Dollars, coming off a year lost to injury. Dollars was back in action for this spring, and ran for 47 yards in the Spring Game.
The Ducks also returned a couple of big developmental-squad backs, La'Vaughn Luellen and Aaron Smith. Those returners got some company in the spring, with the arrival of Noah Whittington and Kilohana Haasenritter. Whittington was Western Kentucky's rushing leader in 2021, and he led all rushers in the UO Spring Game with 84 yards after joining the Ducks this offseason. Haasenritter is a former two-way prep star from the state of Hawaii who spent the first two years of his collegiate career with his home-state Rainbow Warriors, before arriving in Eugene to participate in spring drills.
Who's new: The depth improved even more over the summer. The 2022 recruiting class included running back Jordan James, who ran for 3,424 yards while helping his high school team in Tennessee go 29-0 and win two state titles the last two years. Also new to the mix is Mar'Keise Irving, who provides more Power 5 experience after running for 699 yards at Minnesota as a freshman last season.
Depth was further enhanced by another transfer, Brison Cobbins, as well as freshmen Ellis Bynum and Preston Alford. Bynum is an in-state prospect from Portland's Central Catholic, while Alford has some athletic genes – his parents were student-athletes at Baylor, and his brother is on the football roster at Texas.
What to watch: The Ducks seemed to be poised to weather the departures of Verdell and Dye as long as Cardwell and Dollars performed up to their potential. But the picture only looks better now, with the competition even more heated given the addition of guys with FBS experience in Whittington and Irving, plus an infusion of young depth from James and the other newcomers.
Right now, how carries will be distributed come September is anyone's guess, making for an exciting and intriguing preseason camp at the position. And the defense should get a heck of a look in practice as well, thanks to the talent that will be available for the developmental squad.
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