Oregon Ducks coach Dan Lanning was non-committal about the future of running backs CJ Verdell and Travis Dye on Thursday when talking to the media.
Now we have a little better idea why, with the news that Dye is putting his name in the transfer portal – while weighing the idea of returning to Oregon for his senior season.
“I’ll say this, I’m excited about the group of (running) backs we have,” Lanning said on Thursday. “We’ll continue to be aggressive and finding guys that can enhance our program to make us better.”
That’s a great attitude for Lanning to have, and his ability to convince Seven McGee and Sean Dollars to stay with the Ducks despite both players entering the portal is encouraging – but the best way for Lanning to ease the concerns of Oregon fans and boosters is by keeping Dye in an Oregon uniform in 2022.
It’s hard to blame a player for exploring their options after a shakeup as significant as Oregon’s, and while no one could blame Dye for heading to the NFL it would be tough to see him breaking down defenses in another NCAA uniform next season.
Lanning has already proven he can convince players to stick with him and his new staff, but adding Dye back to this offense would provide stability to a position group that is talented, but very raw at the moment without Dye or potentially Verdell.
Not only that, it convinces Oregon’s other veteran players that this is a situation worth staying for – and no doubt helps Lanning on the recruiting front as well.
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