The dog days of summer have arrived. And while there’s little cause for celebration during this portion of the calendar, there is good news to report:
WFOD’s 2019 Fall Camp Preview has arrived as well!
As fall camp fast approaches, WFOD will be rolling out an in-depth series of position-by-position previews to help you fully prepare for the upcoming season.
Our Fall Camp Preview series continues Tuesday with a breakdown of Oregon’s running backs.
As always, you can find the most up-to-date look at the Oregon depth chart by visiting our Living Depth Chart page.
The Headliners
Compared to the uncertainty at the running back position entering the 2018 season, the general feeling surrounding Oregon’s running back situation heading into the 2019 campaign is one of true optimism. In the lead up to fall camp last season, it was widely believed that Tony Brooks-James would serve as the first option in a running back-by-committee approach that hadn’t been truly employed since 2003 when Oregon was searching for Onterrio Smith’s replacement. And though that largely proved to be the case through non-conference play, it wasn’t long before freshmen CJ Verdell and Travis Dye effectively took the reins from Brooks-James and ran with their opportunity (cheesy pun not intended) as the team’s feature backs.
In his first season as the 1A to Dye’s 1B, Verdell impressed after starring on the scout team in 2017 during his redshirt year. In fact, Verdell became only the third freshman running back in school history to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark for the season (joining LaMichael James and Royce Freeman), finishing the year with 1,018 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground. Perhaps even more impressive was Verdell’s exploits as a receiver out of the backfield. Widely regarded as a tough, physical back with good speed, Verdell demonstrated that he is far more than a one-trick pony, finishing third on the team in receptions (27) and fourth in receiving yards (315).
Though he didn’t have quite the expansive role that Verdell had last season, Dye certainly didn’t disappoint in the opportunities he received. Entering the year as one of the most lightly-regarded members of Oregon’s 2018 recruiting class, Dye ascended the depth chart rather quickly after taking part in spring practices last year. While he doesn’t necessarily possess Verdell’s rugged running style, Dye is certainly the shiftier and quicker back of the two, as the younger brother of Troy Dye flashed big play potential en route to 739 yards and four touchdowns on the ground last season.
There was reportedly very little separation between Verdell and Dye during the spring, which could signal that the two will be platooned in a similar fashion to last season when Verdell averaged over 15 carries per game (15.54) whereas Dye received just under 11 rush attempts per contest (10.77). Improving ball security should be a primary focus for both players this season after each was victimized by fumbles a year ago, but despite that, there’s legitimate reason for Duck fans to be excited about what a Verdell-Dye partnership could achieve in 2019.
The Supporting Ensemble
If Verdell and Dye are more or less established as Oregon’s co-starters at running back, then redshirt sophomores Cyrus Habibi-Likio and Darrian Felix surely resemble their capable backups who are seeking a way – any way – to carve out meaningful playing time in a crowded Duck backfield.
In the case of Habibi-Likio, the 6-foot-1, 216-pounder has already made a name for himself as a goal line threat, accounting for seven rushing touchdowns last season including six scores in the Ducks’ first five games. That would essentially serve as the extent of Habibi-Likio’s contributions in first season of action, as he finished the year with a meager 36 yards on 18 rush attempts. Yet, if reports from Ducks head coach Mario Cristobal are to be believed, Habibi-Likio’s performance from last season carrying over into the spring could have him in line for a larger share of the carries this fall.
For that to happen, however, he’ll need to fend off the talented Darrian Felix. Felix missed virtually all of last season with a foot injury that forced him to use his redshirt, though prior to that, he was a player who flashed tremendous promise in limited action during Willie Taggart’s first and only season in Eugene. That season, Felix rushed for 182 yards and one touchdown on 30 carries, exhibiting the kind of speed and quickness that was particularly reminiscent of former Oregon rushers from the past two decades. After being in and out of the running back rotation for much of the spring, Felix’s ability to stay healthy and produce could ultimately make or break his career at Oregon.
The Intriguing New Cast Member
If four sophomore running backs on the roster weren’t enough, the Ducks also signed two highly-touted rushers to join running backs coach Jim Mastro’s deep stable. Of the two signees, the player perhaps garnering the most attention in the build up to fall camp is all-purpose threat Sean Dollars. Ranked as the no. 2 all-purpose running back in the 2019 class by 247Sports’ Composite Rankings, Dollars – a four-star recruit – arrives on campus with an early opportunity to serve as a versatile weapon for the Ducks not only in the running game, but perhaps more prominently in the passing game and on special teams.
As a senior at SoCal powerhouse Mater Dei High School, Dollars compiled over 1,200 all-purpose yards, which included 586 yards on the ground and 480 yards through the air, scoring 13 touchdowns along the way. Fellow true freshman Jayvaun Wilson could also be a factor at running back for the Ducks this season, but it seems more likely that Dollars will be the player that the Oregon coaching staff efforts to find creative ways to utilize in year one.
The Stirring Subplot
How do carries get distributed in Oregon’s cramped backfield?
We wrote in-depth about this very question a few weeks ago, but it bears repeating: After Verdell and Dye, is there room for anyone else in Oregon’s backfield? With so many capable options, the competition for carries figures to be tight this fall, even amongst the primary incumbents in Verdell and Dye. And while there’s no reason to expect that both players won’t serve as the fountainhead for the Ducks’ rushing attack, it begs the question as to how many carries will be left for Oregon’s other rushers.
Habibi-Likio has proven himself to be a player with a nose for paydirt in red zone situations, and it’s reasonable to think he could play a similar role for the team this season. But Cristobal himself has said that Habibi-Likio is a player deserving of a more expansive role on this team. Barring injury to Verdell and/or Dye, it’s difficult to see how that might be possible. Same goes for Felix who will be nearly two years removed from his last game action and who has been limited in practice for the better part of that time period.
As things currently stand, it seems like a foregone conclusion that at least one person from this group will enter the transfer portal either prior to, or during the season. But who that ends up being and how that ends up playing out is really anyone’s guess.