Oregon has two incredible freshman running backs in Dierre Hill and Jordon Davison, both of whom have outstripped expectations and are pushing for more carries. These two running backs should be getting the bulk of the reps moving forward, as they are far better than rest of Oregon’s already loaded RB room. Davison’s Tight Squeeze We all love it when ...

The Case for Oregon's Freshmen Running back Duo to Start

David, thank you again for another entertaining, enlightening article.

It's so good to have true frosh come in with stars attached to their names and produce in their first season. That's talent meeting opportunity and excellent coaching, schematically and otherwise.

All right, youngsters, Put Down That Cig!

Great article, and one that I completely agree with.

I think the best evidence for why Hill / Davison should be the primary RBs is because we as fans can all see it.

Really fun to watch.

We have not had a running back with breakaway speed like Hill in a very long time; not since LaMichael James, over a decade ago. I sense that Davison has much more upside in picking gaps to bursting through them, although he is very good, actually better than most of the RBs already.

That block by Davison on the second play in the article produced a "crack" sound you could hear in the telecast over the other game noises. It was a hit!

So delighted to have a THUNDER and LIGHTNING combo again!

Spot on, they've earned it. Whittington can't seem to stay healthy and Limar (love the guy, great teammate) just isn't as talented. Hughes is already gone and I just don't think we'll see much more of Harris or Riggs in the future.

Agree with Charles, the "lightning and thunder" combo we had with LaMike and Blount could be coming soon. Let them tire chasing Hill around then Davison can pound them into submission.

I think there is very good chance Hill starts against Indiana.

7 minutes ago, noDucknewby said:

combo we had with LaMike and Blount

It was with Jeremiah Johnson, and LeGarrett Blount.

And we had LaMichael and Barner...lighting and lightning.

1 hour ago, Charles Fischer said:

It was with Jeremiah Johnson, and LeGarrett Blount.

And we had LaMichael and Barner...lighting and lightning.

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I look at this more in terms of reps, it's not who starts the game it's about who is getting the most reps. I think we've really benefitted from no one running back getting worn down over the course of a game.

It's pretty obvious the coaches are doing an excellent job with this group, I'm sure they'll continue to make good decisions.

Edited 3 hours ago3 hr by spartan2785

David, I was a bit disappointed in the article as it did not mention from which gambling site Charles had to be pulled away from.

Other than that, right on.

Agree with Spartan. Like rep metrics for pitchers, the odds for injury go way up when true freshmen are pushed past their ability to maintain body control.

The overall health of the RB room has to be taken into consideration by the coaches. That said, they’ve earned bigger roles, and will probably get them, just not as much as some fans may want.

Just another reason there are coaches, and there are fans, right?

17 minutes ago, Steven A said:

David, I was a bit disappointed in the article as it did not mention from which gambling site Charles had to be pulled away from.

Other than that, right on.

Charles back pain has temporarily restricted his pull-away ability... Not an uncommon malady for competitive sorts.

Edited 3 hours ago3 hr by woundedknees

11 minutes ago, Washington Waddler said:

Agree with Spartan. Like rep metrics for pitchers, the odds for injury go way up when true freshmen are pushed past their ability to maintain body control.

The overall health of the RB room has to be taken into consideration by the coaches. That said, they’ve earned bigger roles, and will probably get them, just not as much as some fans may want.

Just another reason there are coaches, and there are fans, right?

The two RB look that they've started using with Hill and Davidson is probably the best wrinkle they've added in a long time to the offense. It helps that Davidson is such a great lead blocker. Reminds me a little of when West Virginia had their heyday with Steve Slaton and Owen Schmitt. Hill and Davidson are much better than those two, but the way they play is similar in that two RB look.

40 minutes ago, Steven A said:

David, I was a bit disappointed in the article as it did not mention from which gambling site Charles had to be pulled away from.

I did not have a backlink order for Monday...

With all the vices I have...gambling is not one of them. Never actually been on any of those sites, but gotta link them to pay the bills!

Running back #0 Jordon Davison.

Running back #23 Dierre Hill Jr.

Outstanding true Freshmen! Lots of natural talent. They are both responding very well to college coaching and the college game!

14 minutes ago, spartan2785 said:

The two RB look that they've started using with Hill and Davidson is probably the best wrinkle they've added in a long time to the offense.

It is a new/old wrinkle, as we ran it under Helfrich in 2014 with Freeman and Tyner, and then later with Joe Moorhead as OC.

The Oregon Offense: The Powerful Moorhead ISO Play

24 minutes ago, Charles Fischer said:

It is a new/old wrinkle, as we ran it under Helfrich in 2014 with Freeman and Tyner, and then later with Joe Moorhead as OC.

The Oregon Offense: The Powerful Moorhead ISO Play

You're right Charles, I do remember that now that you mentioned it, I don't think (I could be totally wrong) we used it quite as much in a single game as we did against PSU, correct me if I'm wrong.

3 hours ago, noDucknewby said:

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LaMichael was on the team with Blount in 2009, but Blount ended up being suspended after the Boise game. Not much thunder and lightning in 2009.

1 hour ago, Drake said:

LaMichael was on the team with Blount in 2009, but Blount ended up being suspended after the Boise game. Not much thunder and lightning in 2009.

Yep, I had the misfortune of being at Boise State for the Blount punch but he was eventually reinstated (for the CW and subsequent bowl game I believe) so yes it was short-lived but still a nightmare for opposing defenses.

Not to be a contrarian, but I'm liking what we are seeing so far staying mostly status quo. I don't see a huge need to rush Hill/Davison into a lead 20+ combined carries per game (currently they are getting about 10).

Davison just needs to keep doing what he has been doing (and he does have like 7 carries of 6+ yards so it isn't all just the super situational short yardage runs). Hill has been amazing as a home run hitter, with a crazy explosive run rate (15 or more yards) of 27.5%.

Out of his 26 carries, 9 have gone for 10+ (66, 28, 24, 24, 19, 17, 15, 13, 11). However 10 of his carries (38%) have gone for 3 or less yards (3, 3, 3, 3, 2, 0, 0, -1, -1, and -3). Giving him more carries likely won't increase his explosive rate (as it is about as high as you are going to get); and, we probably see at this stage of his young career more of the tougher yardage runs until he grows into that true #1.

Let's say the Ducks play 15 games (we are going to win at least one playoff game this year!).

If we tighten up the rotation a bit, lean a bit more into Hill/Davidson; and, Hill ends up with a 700 yard season, 600 for Limar, 600 for Whittington, 300 for Davidson, Moore is on pace for at least 300, and the backs that get the rest of the carries (Harris, Riggs, what Hughes has already given, Moga, plus any WR or TE runs) total 400 (I think realistic), that's 2900 total rushing yards.

The last 3 years Oregon has rushed for 2211 yards (14g in 2024), 2583 yards (14g in 2023), and 2805 yards (13g in 2022). Last year was down to 4.6 ypc. Stick with what the staff is doing (fresh legs) I could see it back to around 2023's 6.2 ypc. It currently at 6.3 ypc.

Probably needs to be noted, while the NCAA team statistics are still working themselves out to closer to where they will finish due to wildly different OOC scheduling -- it still is interesting to see Oregon's 4 FBS opponents are averaging 88th in rush defense (Montana State is #13 FCS). Currently 6 out of Oregon's 7 remaining scheduled opponents are top 30 in rush defense. Hard to predict what exactly that means but I could see an argument for experienced backs helping.