It didn’t take long for Dan Lanning and the Oregon Ducks to find a new running backs coach after Carlos Locklyn left to join the Ohio State Buckeyes at the start of April.
Sources tell me that the Ducks will officially be hiring Ra’Shaad Samples, the former running backs coach for the Arizona State Sun Devils. The first report came from 247Sports’ Matt Zenitz.
Samples currently holds the title of pass-game coordinator and wide receivers coach at ASU, but he was previously the youngest RB coach in the NFL, working under Sean McVay with the Los Angeles Rams as a 28-year-old.
Samples also spent time with SMU and TCU at the start of his coaching career.
While Lanning said after the coaching position opened up that the team wasn’t in any rush to hire someone, it’s not hard to see that their ability to move relatively quickly by bringing in Samples is of benefit to the players on the roster, who are currently in the middle of spring practices. You also have to consider the fact that the transfer portal opens up in less than two weeks, so having a new coach in place before that is never a bad idea.
We will see when Samples gets to town, and how quickly he can settle in at Oregon and take over what looks like an incredibly strong backfield with Jordan James, Noah Whittington, Jayden Limar, Jay Harris, and Da’Jaun Riggs.
[lawrence-auto-related count=3]