One of the most encouraging things that former Oregon Ducks running backs coach Carlos Locklyn did during his time coaching in Eugene was pulling on experience from Oregon legends to improve the current players on the roster, as well as himself as a coach.
Throughout his two years in Eugene, Locklyn talked about conversations with the legendary RB coach Gary Campbell and often referred to a group chat that he had with guys like LaMichael James, Jonathan Stewart, Kenjon Barner, Royce Freeman, and more. Keeping the past close to the present was important for Locklyn, and propping up that legacy meant something.
That’s something that Ra’Shaad Samples is looking to continue as the new Oregon RB coach.
“I actually talked to LaMichael while I was on the plane studying the plays,” Samples said on Saturday. “I’ve talked to him, I’ve talked to Kenjon, those guys have been awesome.”
While Samples has some experience in the coaching game, having spent time in both the college and NFL ranks, he is still incredibly young, and at just 29, admits that he grew up watching a lot of these guys play when they were at Oregon. That has made this process of getting to know them more meaningful, in a sense.
“It’s important you know, I grew up watching those guys,” Samples said. “That’s what I told them, ‘I grew up watching you guys, watching this success you guys had as one of the best duos in the backfield.’ And it’s important to keep that alive and also build on it.”
Samples is certainly hoping that the Ducks can produce a similar duo this year, with the likes of Jordan James and Noah Whittington taking over as the lead backs after the departure of Bucky Irving.
Even if they don’t create a legacy as big as James and Barner, though, having that platform to build off of is important in the end.
“When you leave that kind of legacy, you don’t want that legacy to die,” Samples said. “You want more guys in the room who can continue to keep the running back group to living off so that’s what we hope to do.”
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