Carlos Locklyn has assembled an elite stable of running backs in Eugene heading into the 2024 season.
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00:00 Let's move it on to the running backs.
00:03 I mean, the rich get richer, embarrassment of riches.
00:06 These are kind of cliches,
00:08 but I think it really applies to Oregon
00:11 at the running back spot
00:12 because they have this crazy collection of talent.
00:15 And just to kind of get people up to speed,
00:18 some of the names we're looking at here,
00:19 Jordan James, Noah Whittington.
00:23 You also have Dejon Riggs who came in
00:26 as a member of the 2024 class.
00:28 And then Jay Harris from Northwest Missouri State.
00:32 Not necessarily a school you find yourself
00:34 hearing too much about,
00:35 but my biggest kind of question here
00:37 or thought process is,
00:40 I don't know if Noah Whittington
00:43 is necessarily a shoe-in for that number one back role
00:47 and not through any fault of his own.
00:48 I mean, the guy got banged up
00:49 and knocked out for the year against Colorado,
00:52 but just because of how stinking good
00:54 Jordan James has played.
00:56 - Dude, there were,
00:58 first I'm gonna say Bucky Irving
01:00 was probably the most fun running back
01:02 that I've covered at Oregon.
01:04 And I missed little Michael James by a year.
01:06 Royce Freeman was a better running back,
01:08 but for kind of the extent of his college career,
01:11 but the stuff that Bucky Irving would do
01:13 was just jaw dropping at times.
01:16 And some of the way that he could kind of shift
01:18 and accelerate, it kind of reminded you
01:19 of some of those Oregon running backs of old.
01:21 So Bucky Irving's very high in my opinion level.
01:24 Towards the end of the season,
01:25 I was asking like,
01:26 why don't they give Jordan James the ball more?
01:28 Like that's like how much that I liked Jordan James.
01:30 Like that, I think he's got Bucky's kind of shiftiness,
01:35 but he's got this explosiveness to him too,
01:37 especially in kind of short yardage stuff that,
01:39 I think Whittington's got a lot of pressure on him
01:43 this spring and summer to really show
01:46 that he's come back from that injury and he's healthy.
01:48 'Cause I think Jordan James
01:49 has a hundred percent lead back potential.
01:52 And then if you kind of look at the recruits
01:54 and the players that Carlos Laughlin's brought in,
01:57 this guy right now is on like a hot streak
02:00 that we haven't seen since like Gary Campbell.
02:01 Like every dude he's brought in is averaging
02:03 at least like 6.5 yards per carry.
02:06 Like it's everybody is effective
02:08 in this offense, in this scheme.
02:10 So I kind of just have,
02:11 I have faith in what they do.
02:14 There were times last year where you kind of want them
02:16 to just feed a guy more, like let a guy get 25 touches,
02:19 just let them go off.
02:20 But they really do spread it out.
02:23 And it seems like that they're really able
02:24 to keep that effective level throughout,
02:28 the first, second and third tier running backs
02:29 that have been coming through.
02:31 - And I also don't want to forget about Jayden Lamar
02:34 who enters his second year with the Ducks.
02:36 Kind of had a little brain fart there,
02:37 but definitely wanted to mention him as a guy
02:39 to keep an eye on here.
02:40 I think the approach is probably going to be
02:43 that three headed monster,
02:44 which I think was the plan last year until Nolo got hurt.
02:47 And you maybe found yourself asking for a little bit,
02:52 is Jordan James ready for that bigger role?
02:54 'Cause he played a lot as a true freshman,
02:55 but you never really got to see him open it up.
02:57 He was a short yardage guy, third down goal line,
02:59 whatever it is, but he proved that he was more than ready
03:02 for that role and then some.
03:03 So I am super excited about Jordan James.
03:06 We kind of know what Noah is.
03:08 I mean, I was excited to see how he would do
03:10 with his kind of beefed up frame at, I think,
03:14 five, five, eight, five, nine, 196.
03:18 He put on some significant weight.
03:20 I'm kind of blanking on the exact number,
03:22 but he's a guy that I think didn't lose a step
03:25 when he added that weight.
03:26 He's really valuable out of the backfield
03:28 and I think has a great top gear.
03:31 But Jay Harris might be the biggest question mark
03:34 in that room right now,
03:35 not because you have any question of his ability.
03:38 Like we were just talking about Tyson to your point,
03:41 you got to trust Carlos Laughlin's eye for talent.
03:44 If you're an Oregon fan right now,
03:45 I mean, he has literally shown you no reason not to.
03:48 I don't even think you can mention Dante Dowdell
03:49 because he just didn't get the opportunity.
03:52 We didn't see him get the carries.
03:54 And that's just 'cause this room has been so good.
03:57 But Jay Harris is kind of that bigger back
03:59 that enters the mix.
04:00 I think he was listed at 6'2", 215 for last year.
04:03 And the dude put up, I want to say like 1,300, 1,400 yards.
04:07 And I think the question for him is maybe just
04:10 how effective can he be as a bigger back in the passing game
04:14 because we just didn't really see it too much from him
04:16 at Northwest State, at least according to the stats.
04:19 But that film is a little hard to get.
04:21 So you got to be super stoked on what this room looks like.
04:24 You have two pretty proven commodities.
04:26 And then the guys that you don't know so much about,
04:28 you're kind of giving Locke on the benefit of the doubt,
04:31 which I think he's definitely earned.