After a couple of long off-season months, the grass is starting to grow and trees are getting ready to bloom. Spring is coming in Eugene, and with it comes the long-awaited return of football for the Oregon Ducks. A lot will look different in this new year for Dan Lanning and his team, with several of last year’s top players moving onto the NFL, including guys like Bo Nix, Troy Franklin, Bucky Irving, Jackson Powers-Johnson, and Brandon Dorlus. All of that is not to mention the fact that the Ducks are joining the Big Ten, and have a new-look conference to get used to on top of a spot in the expanded College Football Playoff to strive for.
It’s safe to say that there are a lot of things to talk about going into this spring season, and a lot of storylines to discuss. To get things started, we want to give a position-by-position breakdown of Oregon’s current roster, getting readers up to date on which players left, which players are returning, and what the overall outlook is going into the spring. So far, we’ve looked at the quarterbacks, and now we’ll examine the Ducks’ running back room.
One of the hallmarks of Oregon football has been the presence of a reliable rushing attack, and that hasn’t changed during Dan Lanning’s tenure as head coach of the Ducks. In his two years as coach, one or more running backs have averaged more than six yards per carry. That consistency has opened up the rest of Oregon’s offense, which led to the Ducks scoring 44.2 points per game in 2023.
The most reliable member of Oregon’s running back room during that time was Bucky Irving, who is now headed to the NFL after two seasons in Eugene. Irving is projected as a mid-round pick, and whichever team drafts him will get an elite rusher, as well as an elite receiver out of the backfield. Trying to replace him will be a tough task for Oregon, but they have enough talent already on their depth chart to feel comfortable with their 2024 RB room.
Below is a breakdown of every loss and addition to the Ducks RB room, as well as a look at each returning player. I also dive into the most compelling storylines pertinent to the Ducks’ running backs and give an overall outlook for the position in 2024.