Jay Harris did it through the air and on the ground o ear our Ducks Wire Player of the Game honors on Saturday.
The Oregon Ducks spring game has come to an end, with the Green team winning, 28-17. There were plenty of bright spots and plenty of great players, including Evan Stewart, Brison Cobbins and Teitum Tuioti.
But the Ducks Wire player of the game in the 2024 spring game is running back Jay Harris. On 11 rushes, Harris gained 52 yards. He also caught 3 passes for 34 yards. Harris sealed his MVP award with a 24-yard receiving touchdown in the game’s final minutes.
Harris is a transfer from Northwest Missouri State, a Division II school. All offseason, there has been speculation Harris would be one of Oregon’s best RBs in 2024, and on Saturday he showed how capable he is.
Harris’s counterparts in the running back room also performed well for the Ducks. Jordan James, Oregon’s presumed RB1, rushed for 51 yards on seven carries and caught five passes for 73 yards. Sophomore Jayden Limar gained 30 rushing yards and 20 receiving yards.
Noah Whittington, another Ducks running back, was absent Saturday, perhaps due to an injury he suffered last season. Hopefully, Whittington will be at full strength by the time the season rolls around. If he is, Oregon will have four running backs on their roster capable of making a big play at any time.
Jay Harris proved he was talented playing at the DII level. Now he needs to prove it inside Autzen Stadium.
If you look at Jay Harris, you don’t see an inexperienced running back. His size and speed paint the picture of someone who is capable of having a long career. If you watch his game film, you don’t see a player who should be playing at the Division II level, starting for Northwest Missouri State.
For various reasons, though, that’s where Harris found himself before making the leap to the FBS level and landing with the Oregon Ducks this offseason. Now he’s looking to prove that what he did on the field at the DII level will translate to Autzen Stadium.
So far, he’s feeling comfortable with the transition.
“Guys are bigger, stronger, faster,” Harris said on Saturday after Oregon’s second spring scrimmage. “I’ve adapted pretty well. Faster pace, but overall I’ve been adapting well since I’ve been here.”
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The Ducks’ head coach would agree. On Saturday, Lanning told media members that Harris found his way into the endzone for multiple scores on the day.
“It was a good day for Jay,” Lanning said. “I think he had two touchdowns out there. He still needs to work on the details, right? You know, learning what he needs to be doing consistently. But it was a solid, solid practice from today.”
What Harris brings to the table is different from the other backs on the roster. While both Jordan James and Noah Whittington have proven with their stats that they can play at a high level, it is the size that Harris brings which intrigues fans. Standing at 6-foot-2, 220 pounds, the former Bearcat can overpower you with his bulk, but is also a threat to beat you on the outside with his speed.
“He’s a big physical guy,” James said of Harris earlier this spring. “He’s hard to tackle. He’s going to be hard to bring down. He’s going to be somebody that helps us win some ballgames.”
While all of the talent might be there for Harris, what he needs to continue to do this spring is find his role in the offense. James is expected to be the workhorse back to start while Whittington continues to recover from last year’s knee injury, but figuring out where Harris fits in will be key.
Whether it’s as a power back, a third-down back, or an every-down back, there’s an early belief that the former DII star will be a difference maker. We’ve seen him do it against lesser competition, now we just need to see it inside Autzen.
Bucky Irving leaves big shoes to fill in Eugene, but Jordan James and Noah Whittington are more than capable of getting the job done.
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.
Running back Jay Harris should fit right in with the Oregon tailback room with his size and speed.
The Oregon Ducks landed a nice transfer addition on Monday morning, getting a commitment from Northwest Missouri State’s Jay Harris.
At 6-foot-2 and 215 pounds, Harris brings a lot of size to the RB room, which needed it after the departure of freshman RB Dante Dowdell earlier this offseason.
If you want to see more of Harris, we’ve also got you covered.
In the highlight video below, the Ducks’ newest RB torched Central Oklahoma for four touchdowns in that victory. Harris also went for 274 yards in this game, which was a season-high.
Oregon usually goes for a tandem tailback system that is bigger than the other. Still, with Noah Whittington, James and now Harris, the Ducks might be going to give opposing defenses much of the same and doing it over and over again.
Harris rushed for a little over 1,400 yards this past season for Northwest Missouri State with 14 touchdowns. The Bearcats finished 7-4 this season.
Here are 5 things to know about Jay Harris, Oregon’s newest transfer RB from Northwest Missouri State.
In 2023, Oregon had a full running back room, with five capable backs on the roster. But for 2024, the Ducks are losing some of that depth with starting RB Bucky Irving heading off to the NFL and freshman Dante Dowdell entering the transfer portal.
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To fill some of those holes, the Oregon Ducks have found a new RB, Jay Harris, in the transfer portal. 2024 will be Harris’s third season in college, after playing two seasons for the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats.
Continue below to get to know the Ducks’ newest RB a little better.
Former Northwest Missouri State RB Jay Harris is expected to transfer to the Oregon Ducks, adding a big-time rusher to the backfield.
The running back position didn’t start as a major area of need when the transfer portal opened, but after freshman RB Dante Dowdell announced that he was leaving Eugene, it became clear that the Oregon Ducks could stand to add a rusher this offseason.
They got just that, getting a commitment from Jay Harris, a former standout player at Northwest Missouri State.
In two years with the Bearcats, Harris played in 15 games and 1,645 yards and 19 touchdowns.
While common fans my not know much about Harris, one of the first things to note about the running back is his size. Harris stands at 6-foot-2, 215 pounds, and runs with a physicality that many Duck fans have come to expect from the backfield.
Harris had over 100 yards rushing in every game during the 2023 season, and earned First-Team All MIAA honors, and was nominated for the 2023 Harlon Hill Trophy as the Division II College Football Player of the Year.
Trainer Eddy Reynoso wants flyweight titleholder Julio Cesar Martinez to unify at 112 pounds and then move up to 115.
Is flyweight titleholder Julio Cesar Martinez a threat to Juan Francisco Estrada and Roman Gonzalez at junior bantamweight? His trainer, Eddy Reynoso, thinks so.
Martinez, an under-the-radar little man from Mexico, appeared to win a 112-pound title last August when he stopped Charlie Edwards in three rounds only to have the result declared a no-contest because he punched Edwards while he was down.
No problem. Martinez (16-1, 12 KOs) scored a ninth-round knockout of Cristofer Rosales four months later to win the vacant championship and successfully defended against Jay Harris in February.
Reynoso would like to see his 25-year-old protege unify against either Moruti Mthalane or Kosei Tanaka at 112 pounds and then move up to 115.
Julio Cesar Martinez earned a unanimous-decision victory over Jay Harris in the first defense of his flyweight title. Ed Mulholland / Matchroom Boxing USA
In Reynoso’s opinion, the sky is the limit with Martinez.
“He’s very disciplined,” Reynoso said in the second episode of Matchroom Boxing’s Spanish-language series “Peleamundo.” “He shows all the characteristics of a typical Mexican fighter. He likes to fight. He likes to train and more than anything, he’s a star.
“In such few fights he’s already won a world championship and I believe if he keeps on the same path, he’s going to do great things because he’s a good fighter who’s very fond of learning, he’s very technical. He’s there. He’s a great champion.
Reynoso went on: “He’s charismatic, he’s brave, he’s a very strong fighter for the division. He has lots of endurance. He’s not scared. Whatever fight you put him in, he’ll fight. He’s different than the other fighters. He has a few things to learn, but we’re going to vary the training to get him more technically sound fight by fight.”
Reynoso also likes Martinez’s demeanor.
“He’s always laughing and smiling,” he said. “He turns the fights into like a circus. He’s very positive. You never see him angry. He’s a very hard working, smiling, laughing, positive fighter.”
And, Reynoso added, Martinez is just getting started.
“We’re going to keep him at flyweight and try to defend and unify with Tanaka or Mthalane,” he said. “… We’re getting harder fights little by little. We’ll move up to 115 pounds to fight Estrada, [Carlos] Cuadras, Chocolatito, there’s so many good fighters. And I believe it’s step by step. We’ll keep him at featherweight then move up to super featherweight.”
The second episode of “Peleamundo” will hit Matchroom’s YouTube channel on Sunday. Welterweight contender Jessie Vargas is the host.
Julio Cesar Martinez beat Jay Harris in a much more closely contested fight than was reflected in the judges scorecards Saturday night…
Julio Cesar Martinez didn’t get the stoppage that most expected him to get for his first defense of his flyweight title, but he put up a dominating performance anyway.
In a fervent 12-rounder, Martinez out-slugged untested Jay Harris, dropping him once en route to a unanimous decision win Saturday night at Ford Center at The Star in Frisco Texas on the Mikey Garcia-Jesse Vargas card.
The judges scored it 118-109, 116-111 and 115-112, all for the 25-year-old Martinez, who had previously never gone the distance in a 12-round bout.
“Thank God, it was a very tough battle,” said Martinez, who earned his flyweight trinket by defeating Cristofer Rosales in a vacant title shot in December. “I’ll defend this title many times. There is no fear right here.”
An entertaining offensive fighter who throws punches with abandon, Martinez (16-1, 12 KOs) started off fast and appeared to be on track for an early stoppage. But Harris (17-1, 9 KOs), from Swansea, Wales, was far more game than expected. While his head snapped back repeatedly from Martinez’s hard-winging shots early on, Harris was able to put up a decent fight in the second half of the bout. He worked diligently behind a jab and consistently answered Martinez’s flurries with his own combinations. Harris also repeatedly dug himself out of holes. In Round 7, Harris looked as though he was going to get stopped, but he fought back to arguably win the round.
Martinez’s commitment to the body paid off thirty seconds into Round 10, when he landed a hard left and right to the flanks that forced Harris to take a knee. Nevertheless, Harris was able to beat the count.
Asked if Harris surprised him at all, Martinez said, “Harris is a very strong fighter. I know that’s why he was undefeated.”
A possible matchup could be a unification against Japan’s Kosei Tanaka.
Julio Cesar Martinez will make his first title defense against Jay Harris on a Feb. 29 card featuring the Mikey Garcia-Jessie Vargas bout.
Julio Cesar Martinez didn’t celebrate for long. He introduced himself as a flyweight champion in December and he will fight to validate his sudden place alongside the other 112-pound champs with a title defense in February.
Martinez (15-1, 12 KO) will make his first title defense on Feb. 29 against Jay Harris (17-0, 9 KOs) of Wales on a DAZN card featuring the Mikey Garcia-Jessie Vargas welterweight bout in Frisco, Texas, it was announced this week.
Martinez got the only cheers on a card remembered for the debris tossed at Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. on Dec 20 in Phoenix. Martinez displayed power and poise, winning a ninth-round TKO of former champion Cristofer Rosales, a Nicaraguan who had never been stopped.
“I’m so happy to be back fighting so soon,’’ Martinez said. “It was a special moment to become world champion but now I must continue to work hard.’’
In part, the 24-year-old Martinez, of Mexico City, is staying busy in an attempt to gain some name recognition.
“It’s perfect to have Julio back fighting so quickly,’’ said Martinez trainer Eddy Reynoso, who also trains Canelo Alvarez. “It’s all part of developing him as a fighter. He has so much potential, and I believe he is going to dominate and unify the division in time.’’
Despite Martinez’s new found title, Harris has a better record. The Welshman is unbeaten (17-0, 9 KOs). He scored a fourth-round stoppage of three-time Olympian and two-time bronze medalist Paddy Barnes on Oct. 11 in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
“Julio is a great young fighter,” Harris said, “but I am feeling in the form of my life and this gives me the opportunity to shock the world.”
