Tag: Carlos Locklyn

Carlos Locklyn talks Bucky Irving, Will Stein’s offense, and Ducks’ immense RB depth

“We’ve got two of probably the top five backs in the Pac-12 here at Oregon.” Carlos Locklyn is nothing short of confident heading into 2023.

The running back position at the University of Oregon carries a lot of weight and history. Going back through the decades, swathes of legendary players have come through the program, and they’ve been coached by some of the most legendary coaches.

There is a standard of greatness, and since taking over as the new RB coach last season, Carlos Locklyn has done everything in his power to uphold that standard.

He’s doing a pretty good job, if you were to ask anyone of their opinion.

Last year with Bucky Irving and Noah Whittington leading the way, Oregon’s rushing attack saw a nice boost, and that is expected to continue this year with those two starters returning, as well as the expected elevation of Jordan James. On top of that the Ducks signed a pair of highly-rated true freshmen in Dante Dowdell and Jayden Limar, both of whom could contribute early in their careers.

On Thursday, we got a chance to talk to Locklyn for the first time this spring and broke down Oregon’s RB room. Here are some of the best quotes from that interview.

Report: Ducks working hard to flip 4-star RB Jayden Limar ahead of signing day

According to a report from @BrandonHuffman, the Ducks are working hard to flip 4-star RB Jayden Limar, one of the top players in the state of Washington.

It appears that Dan Lanning and the Oregon Ducks are trying to do some work in the closing weeks of the 2023 recruiting cycle before the early signing period begins.

According to a report from 247Sports’ Brandon Huffman, Carlos Locklyn is in Washington on Saturday night to see 4-star running back Jayden Limar play in the 4A State Championship game. Huffman says that Locklyn and the Ducks are working hard to flip Limar, who is currently committed to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Standing at 5-foot-11, 190 pounds, Limar is rated as the No. 14 RB in the nation, and the No. 4 player in the state of Washington. This would be a big get for Oregon, who already has a commitment from Caleb Presley, the No. 1 player in Washington, just a year after getting a commitment from Josh Conerly, Washington’s No. 1 player in the 2022 class.

We will see over the coming weeks how much ground the Ducks can make up in the pursuit of Limar, but the RB did have Oregon in his final four schools before committing to Notre Dame. It’s clear that he likes the Ducks, so we will watch closely as they try to close the deal.

Jayden Limar’s Recruiting Profile

‘Effort don’t take talent;’ Coach Carlos Locklyn brings physical mentality to Oregon RB room

Oregon coach Carlos Locklyn believes he’s the best RB on the Ducks. He brings that confident mentality to a loaded RB room.

The Oregon Ducks have a history of putting forth a strong and extremely respectable group of running backs. From LaMichael James and Royce Freeman to Jonathan Stewart and DeAnthony Thomas, the Ducks are known for a stout stable of RBs.

That doesn’t look to be changing under the new coaching staff, with RB coach Carlos Locklyn at the helm.

We talked a lot to Locklyn over the spring months as he worked to rebuild the RB room following a number of transfers. Through the transfer portal and an impressive stretch of recruiting, the Ducks are once again looking strong in the backfield.

For the first time this fall, media members had a chance to talk to Locklyn following the sixth practice of the season. Here are some of the most notable quotes:

4-star Oregon target RB Dylan Edwards announces commitment

The Ducks were in the mix until the end, but ultimately couldn’t land 4-star RB Dylan Edwards.

The recruitment of Dylan Edwards has been a rollercoaster ride.

Earlier this summer, the 4-star running back out of Kansas announced his decision to stay home and commit to the Kansas State Wildcats. About a month later, though, Edwards announced his de-commitment a couple of days after receiving an offer from the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Now, Edwards appears ready to make his decision, which we can assume will be final. Edwards announced on Saturday that he would be committing to Notre Dame and joining one of the top recruiting classes in the nation.

It came down to three schools, and the Oregon Ducks were certainly in the mix until the end. Ultimately, though, Carlos Locklyn wasn’t able to pry away Edwards, who is ranked as the No. 19 RB and No. 324 overall player in the 2023 class.

The Ducks have 4-star RB Dante Dowdell already in the 2023 class but would love to add one more blue-chip player to the mix down the road.

Film

Dylan Edwards’ Recruiting Profile

Oregon’s 4-star RB commit leaps up the 2023 recruit rankings

Oregon has a long and storied history at the RB position. They’re currently recruiting the position as well as they ever have under Carlos Locklyn.

When you look at the most recent rankings of running back recruits in the 2023 class, you may get a bit excited if you’re a fan of the Oregon Ducks.

Not only did 4-star RB commit Dante Dowdell recently make a big jump up in the rankings, but there is another prospect — 5-star Richard Young — who also ranks high on the list.

Both have been moving up over the past couple of months.

In the most recent list of top players according to On3, Dowdell is now ranked as the No. 6 RB in the nation, and Young is ranked at No. 3 in the nation.

We will hopefully know soon whether or not Young is going to commit to the Ducks, but the recent movement at Alabama definitely points to the Ducks gaining some ground in his recruitment. 

When all is said and done, this could be one of the more talented backfields that we’ve seen in recent memory in Eugene, which is absolutely saying something.

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Carlos Locklyn uses connection to Gary Campbell, Duck legends to inspire greatness

“It’s my job to get that room back to the standard.” Oregon RB coach uses connection with Ducks’ legends to elevate current roster.

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When former Western Kentucky coach Carlos Locklyn was hired to be in charge of the running backs with the Oregon Ducks, his first point of action was to get in touch with those who came before him. He wanted to talk to the people who made this a coveted position in his eyes; the people who set a standard decades ago, and created a legacy of dominant and successful rushers in Eugene.

The first person on the list was former RB coach Gary Campbell, who stands as the longest-tenured coach in Oregon history, coaching from 1983 to 2016.

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“For me, the standard when I first got here was to reach out to Coach Campbell,” Locklyn said on Tuesday. “And to reach out to every one of those backs, because that’s the standard. It’s my job to get that room back to that standard.”

When you think about the best rushers to come through Eugene, it’s nearly impossible to find someone who Campbell didn’t get his hands on. Saladin McCullough, Reuben Droughns, Jonathan Stewart, Jeremiah Johnson, LaMichael James, Kenjon Barner, Royce Freeman… the list goes on.

“I know there’s other running back coaches that came after Coach Campbell, but to me, from 1983 to 2016, that guy — he’s the standard,” Locklyn said. “And if there’s anybody I want to model myself after, it’s Coach Campbell. He would text me, I would text him, I would text some of the running backs that have been here to let them know that I respect what y’all have done here, and it’s on me to get that room back to the standard.”

It shouldn’t come as a shock that Locklyn took the effort to reach out and form a relationship with some of the stalwarts in Oregon’s history books. If we’ve learned anything about him in the months since his hiring, it’s that relationships are the most important factor between a coach and player. That was a driving factor for why Dan Lanning hired him in the first place.

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“Lock was a guy that always stood out to me as a coach. I’ve been a big fan of his for a long time and more than anything, I’ve noticed how players respond to him,” Lanning said on Tuesday. “You can see obviously that video, the connection that he has with his guys, and like we said from the beginning, we’re going to be about relationships and development. And Lock takes a lot of pride in having great relationships with his players.”

The video that Lanning referred to is one that we saw a couple of months ago when the new Oregon head coach rounded up a group of Locklyn’s former players — Darrell Henderson, Antonio Gibson, Tony Pollard, Kenneth Gainwell, Patrick Taylor — on a call to have them present as he was offered the new job at Oregon. It represented how much love there was from his former players.

“Anybody that knows me knows that those five guys from Memphis, they mean a lot to me,” Locklyn said. “So, that was special to have those guys on that call, and those guys wanted to be on that call. They know the journey I had to get into this profession.”

As he looks toward the future, Locklyn knows that he can learn a lot from the past. In Eugene, there is a great history of successful running backs that spans decades into the past. They’ve set the standard for what it means to be great players and great men, mentored by the legendary Gary Campbell.

“It’s on me to get that room back to the standard.”

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WATCH: Dan Lanning shows moment he asked Carlos Locklyn to join Ducks coaching staff

Dan Lanning gave us a peek behind the curtains, showing the moment he used current NFL players to invite RB coach Carlos Locklyn to join the Ducks.

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It’s not often that you get a look inside the ropes and have a chance to see what some of the conversations are like between coaches in college football, especially when it comes to hiring someone new. In the past, we’ve seen videos of coaches offering scholarships to players, but I can’t think of many times, if any, where we’ve been given a chance to witness the moment where a head coach invites someone to join his staff.

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Dan Lanning gave us the chance to see him do that for Oregon Ducks RB coach Carlos Locklyn on Thursday, posting a video on Twitter that showed the moments he asked Locklyn to join him in Eugene. It was a special moment because Lanning had a group of Locklyn’s former players on the call, many of whom are still playing today in the NFL.

“What I want to see you do is come develop some young men like you developed these guys,” Lanning said.

On the call with Locklyn and Lanning, you had guys like Los Angeles Rams RB Darrell Henderson, who just won a Super Bowl ring, as well as Washington Commanders’ RB Antonio Gibson. We also see Dallas Cowboys RB Tony Pollard, Philadelphia Eagles RB Kenny Gainwell, and Green Bay Packers RB Patrick Taylor. Coach Locklyn was with all of these players at the University of Memphis.

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“All that hard work is paying off,” Henderson said to his former coach on the call.

We will now have a chance to see Coach Locklyn work with some of the young backs on Oregon’s roster, including Byron Cardwell, Seven McGee, Sean Dollars, and new 4-star RB Jordan James. Judging by the talent that he has helped lead into the NFL, there should be some high expectations in Eugene.

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Western Kentucky’s Carlos Locklyn to be hired as new RB coach for Oregon Ducks

Carlos Locklyn is reportedly coming to Eugene to coach the RB room. He will have an abundance of riches to work with, even if CJ Verdell and Travis Dye don’t return.

As the turnover for the Oregon Ducks coaching staff continues, we’re seeing a wave of new coaches agree to come to Eugene and set up shop under Dan Lanning. One of the latest staff members to reportedly agree to do so is Western Kentucky’s running backs coach Carlos Locklyn, who most recently held off-field positions at Florida State and Memphis.

At Western Kentucky, Locklyn served as the RB coach, and he will now have a chance to coach some of the best young players on the Oregon roster, with Byron Cardwell, Seven McGee, Sean Dollars, and others set to go for the 2022 season. There is also a chance that CJ Verdell and Travis Dye decide to return for another year, which would give Locklyn an abundance of riches.

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