Everyone is familiar with Dak Moore at receiver, and Na'eem Offord at corner getting good looks in fall camp as true freshmen, but another player has surfaced and may upset the depth chart. There were rumors about many of the faster running backs going out for passes in practice, and actually lining up in the slot this fall--as a new wrinkle by OC Will Stein.

There have been murmurs about freshman RB Dierre Hill doing some explosive things in the practices. Now I knew from my coaching contact in Illinois where Hill is from that he is the "real" deal, and the coach/Duck-Buddy attested to this recruit being under-emphasized in the recruiting reports. Many of you will recall how I was promoting this young man, as someone to keep an eye on.

When signed, he was 5'10" and 180 pounds; he is now up to 205 pounds with superb speed, agility and jump-cuts? And apparently he can catch the ball out of the backfield nicely, and is difficult to tackle in the open field. Again...these are rumblings, murmurs, and rumors at this point. (Did I get all the CYA words right?) We will need to see performance on the field, of course.

But this is a B1G part of my entertainment, and that is watching for new players emerge, get their confidence, and watch their progress. As I said...this could really disrupt the RB depth chart if this pans out.

What? He ran for 438 yards and six touchdowns in the State Championship game?

He is No. 10 below...and has a stiff-arm like Jeremiah Johnson, (2007) and a limp-leg drop like Saladin McCullough of 1998. He can make tremendous cut-backs across the field, or in linebacker-land to extend a play. Oh baby....time for some FOOTBALL!

In these highlights--he has it all at the HS level. He is elusive, can catch the ball, has acceleration, and breaks tackles with power. Whew!

I've heard his first name pronounced, "Dare," and "Dee-air" and I imagine it won't be long before we learn the correct version!

The Oregon runningback room is bonkers. It was surprising that we didn't lose any RB talent to the portal.

But we added Hughs who looks to be a major beast in his own right.

But we also have Whittington who is apparently having a great camp as well right now. And Riggs who looked fantastic against Washington in his limited play.

So that's three right there.

Harris is making some progress as well as a big back but I think he gets drowned by the depth chart.

And now it looks like it's going to be hard to keep Hill off the field.

All I can say is that is kinda a good thing Hughs and Whittington are gone after this season just to maintain our younger backs on the roster for 26.

The high school championship video is just nuts! How are we going to keep all these running backs fed?

Charles' Saladin comp is spot on.....his patience in setting up blocks is next level

By all reports Limar has been extremely reliable and a great teammate, but I just don't see how he holds on to #3 RB role. There's just too much talent behind him.

I just completed my summer ritual of rewatching of all the previous season's games culminating with this year's spring game. Hill looked really good in that one, and I agree with others that Riggs had a great series with Dante Moore in the fusky game. Harris to me looks like a short-yardage/goal line back ala Habibi-Likio (sp?).

Riggs already spilled the beans about getting reps in the slot and I can envision lots of two-back sets to help with the dearth of experience at WR as well as using lots of Sadiq in some sort of H-back role. I really like our WR room (Dillon Gresham and Dakorien Moore both looked really good in the spring game), but there's just not much game-time experience there yet.

Edited Monday at 01:16 AM2 days by noDucknewby

1 hour ago, noDucknewby said:

Riggs already spilled the beans about getting reps in the slot

Not surprising ... Stein has used runningbacks as receivers all the time. It's not unusual to see an empty set with the RB lined up as a receiver. Often the RB motions back into the backfield but sometimes they don't.

I think it shows he is deeper in the playbook this year and it certainly makes him more of an option for playing time.

I think we'll see Hill this year but unless he has a deep grasp of the full playbook I think he shows up with a particular see get of plays.

Don't forget blocking as a RB as well. That's the price of the puzzle that usually takes freshman the longest to develop.

I'm by no means trying to finish Hill. If he's good enough to play he'll play. But there is so much that does into the position to learn and develop that we haven't seen freshman really break through outside of specialized roles.

Jordan James as a freshman is a great example, he was a short yardage back. He developed into more his sophomore and junior years.

I wonder if we see some two back sets with receiving options with so many monster backs on the team. Throw in some trickeration plays with Luke Moga at QB or lined up who knows where along with some Sadiq creativity and the offense could achieve a whole new level.

I'm calling a TD pass against PSU from Moga to Sadiq off a reverse (with Moga lined up as a receiver) right now.

Perhaps the biggest tell about Hill was following his record breaking 7th TD when he took a knee in thanks rather than ego-bloating all over the end zone. Humble let’s you focus on the things that count.

Got to admit I’m scratching my head just a bit over Josh Pate’s ‘hinge’ verdict on our running room.