Overall, last Saturday was a very positive day for the Oregon Ducks and their fans. Beating No. 19 Colorado seemed to mean a little bit more after all the hype surrounding Deion Sanders and the newfangled Buffaloes. The Ducks came out firing, didn’t slow down, and beat the Buffs 42-6.
However, on such a bright day for the team, there was a dark spot. On an outside run toward the Oregon sideline, RB Noah Whittington suffered an injury to his lower left leg after being brought down by multiple Colorado defenders. He was taken to the sideline, received some immediate treatment, and then was carted off the field. Head coach Dan Lanning said after the game that Whittington will be out “for a bit” and that everyone should “say a prayer for him.”
Here is the play that knocked RB Noah Whittington out of the game, and likely out for a few weeks, per Lanning.
Left ankle, you can see it buckle under some contact. Carted to the locker room after spending time in the medical tent. pic.twitter.com/UwxEzcfA5C
— Zachary Neel (@zacharycneel) September 25, 2023
On Monday night, during Lanning’s weekly press conference, the subject of Whittington and the mindset of Oregon’s RB group going forward came up, and Lanning had this to say:
“Well, first they hurt for Noah because they know this guy is a guy that steps on the field every single day and he works his tail off,” Lanning said. “He might not say a word. We talked about guys that talk with their pads, that’s Noah. He’s tough. This guy’s from Peach County. Anybody that hasn’t been there wouldn’t know, but if you’ve been there you realize what that means. So those guys hurt for him. But they also know again, ‘Next guy up, how am I going to take advantage of this opportunity to make sure I don’t let our team down in his absence?’ We’re going to miss Noah, you don’t just replace a Noah with another player, and especially his demeanor and his work ethic. But we’ve got some great backs in that room that are ready to fill those shoes.”
The question that prompted that answer was about the mindset of the rest of the RBs as they look toward Stanford, but the first thing Lanning mentioned is how they’re hurting for Noah. His whole answer gives the impression that losing Noah Whittington means a lot more to this team than just losing an RB for a few weeks. Lanning talking about his character along with his hometown, shows how much he and the rest of the team care about Whittington. Overall, it seems that Noah Whittington is so beloved in the Oregon locker room that losing him hurts everyone a little extra.
When asked about how many RBs and which RBs will be used in Whittington’s absence Lanning had this to say:
“It takes what it takes, right? We’re gonna play as many guys that can play winning football for us and play at a high level, and we’re fortunate when we’re one of the teams in the league that are fortunate to have great backs,” Lanning said. “So I’m really pleased with the guys that we have in that room. I know we can get it done with the guys in that room. We’ll see how people’s role will grow in the next few weeks as we adapt and adjust based on that.”
Hopefully, Noah Whittington will be back soon, because he clearly means a lot to this team.
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