Tag: Kenjon Barner

Oregon Ducks announce guest coaches for 2024 spring game

Former Oregon Ducks RB Kenjon Barner and LB Troy Dye have been announced as the guest coaches for Oregon’s spring game.

The Oregon Ducks spring game is a day away, and we’ll finally get a look at the 2024 Ducks. Oregon football hasn’t announced the rosters for the spring game, but on Friday morning, the program announced former Ducks Kenjon Barner and Troy Dye as the spring game’s guest coaches.

Barner is returning to Eugene more than a decade removed from his playing days, when he was one of the best running backs in college football. Barner had a tough act to follow as Duck, succeeding Doak Walker Award (the nation’s best running back) winner LaMichael James as the Ducks’ top running back. In his four years at Oregon, Barner gained 4,214 all-purpose yards and scored 48 touchdowns.

Troy Dye’s time at Oregon ended more recently than Barner’s, coming to a close in 2019. Like Barner, Dye played four years as a Duck, making 391 tackles, 41.5 tackles for loss, 13 sacks and five interceptions in his career. After his time in Eugene, Dye was selected in the fourth round of the NFL draft by the Minnesota Vikings where he has played the last four seasons.

Last April, Marcus Mariota and Jevon Holland made the trip west to serve as guest coach Oregon’s spring game. In the year since, Mariota became a member of the Washington Commanders, and he will likely serve as the backup quarterback to No. 2 draft pick Jayden Daniels this season. Holland had a phenomenal season with the Miami Dolphins in 2023, grabbing five picks and forcing four fumbles, but he was omitted from the NFC Pro Bowl roster.

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Ra’Shaad Samples pulling knowledge from LaMichael James, Kenjon Barner to further Ducks RBs

“When you leave that kind of legacy, you don’t want that legacy to die.”

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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Running Back University? ESPN gives Oregon a claim of the title

LaMichael James, Kenjon Barner, Royce Freeman, De’Anthony Thomas…the list goes on. No wonder ESPN has UO among the top RB schools.

The Oregon Ducks football program has had great running backs throughout its history going all the way back to Bobby Moore, aka Ahmad Rashad, and Mel Renfro in the 1960s. Then in the 80s, Oregon featured tailbacks such as Derek Loville and Tony Cherry.

Oregon’s talent level at the position as only gone through the roof over the past decade and overall. According to ESPN, the Ducks are among the best football schools in the country when it comes to producing high-level tailbacks.

The Ducks happen to be the only Pac-12 team on the list and considering the rich history of USC, that’s quite remarkable. So if there’s a “Running Back U” on the West Coast, it’s Oregon.

Here’s where they stand in ESPN’s RBU rankings:

38 days till Patriots season opener: Every player to wear No. 38 for New England

Here’s a list of every Patriots player to wear the No. 38 jersey number

In only 38 days, the New England Patriots will be kick-starting their 2023 regular season schedule against the Philadelphia Eagles. So we’re continuing our countdown series by listing every Patriots player that has ever worn the No. 38 jersey.

The one player on this list that immediately comes to mind is the current owner of the number, running back Rhamondre Stevenson.

In only his third year in the league, Stevenson has gone from backing up Damien Harris to being one of the best offensive playmakers on the Patriots’ roster. He ran for 1,040 yards and five touchdowns, while also hauling in 69 receptions for 421 yards and one touchdown in 2022.

By the end of the 2023 season, he could be looked at as one of the best running backs in the NFL.

Roland James is also a name that comes to mind when remembering some of the former Patriots greats that wore No. 38. The All-1980s Team member left a mark on the organization that’s still remembered and cherished to this very day.

Let’s take a look at every player that has worn the No. 38 throughout franchise history (via Pro Football Reference).

Green and Yellow Fireworks: Some of the best Oregon Duck highlights in the 21st century

What better way to celebrate the 4th of July than with an Oregon Ducks firework show?

Who doesn’t love a good fireworks show?

On the 4th of July, it is an American tradition to get together with friends and family and celebrate independence by lighting things on fire and watching them explode in the sky.

While you prepare for those festivities to begin on Tuesday night, we wanted to offer some fireworks of our own — some Oregon Duck fireworks.

The past couple of decades in Eugene have been incredibly entertaining. With the rise to national prominence for Oregon football, and the Chip Kelly blur offense that took the college football world by storm, the Ducks saw themselves one of the biggest fan favorites across the nation this century. Go ahead and add in Marcus Mariota’s Heisman season, the enthralling career of Sabrina Ionescu, and the deep tournament runs made by both basketball teams in March.

It’s safe to say that the past 23 years have provided a ton of highlights. I want to bring them to the surface and give you all a fireworks show to start your holiday.

Of course, there are going to be many plays that I missed throughout this all. To every player and every play that did not get mentioned, I apologize. If you have any favorite firework-worthy plays that didn’t get mentioned, comment below and let me know.

Without further ado, let the firework show begin.

A dozen Oregon Ducks football records that are unlikely to be broken

What are the records that will never be touched at Oregon? There are actually quite a few.

In the wake of LeBron James making history on Tuesday night by becoming the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, passing Hall-of-Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, we got to thinking here at Ducks Wire.

That feat by James was unimaginable for much of his career. With Abdul-Jabbar’s record standing for almost 39 years, it seemed outside the realm of possibility that anyone would score more than 38,388 points in a single career. Of course, then King James came around and made it all possible.

So, what are some records at the University of Oregon that might be unlikely to be broken in the future? Are there any feats that Duck football players have accomplished over the past century in Eugene that were so legendary that they will never be replicated?

This question intrigued me. I dove into Oregon’s history books and looked at some of the most notable performances. As it turns out, there are quite a few statistics that it would be hard to break going forward, whether it be due to the fact that players typically don’t stick around for four years in college anymore, or that the transfer portal sees to it that few guys are at a single school for their entire career.

I would certainly love to be wrong, but here are the records that I don’t think will be broken in Eugene for a long time coming.

Giants sign Jaydon Mickens after working out three returners

The New York Giants have signed WR Jaydon Mickens after working out a trio of return men on Tuesday.

The New York Giants hosted a small group of return men for a tryout on Tuesday in East Rutherford, including former sixth-round pick Kenjon Barner.

The 33-yard-old Barner was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in 2013. Since then, he’s become quite the journeyman, making stops with the Philadelphia Eagles, Los Angeles Chargers, New England Patriots, Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens and, most recently, Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Barner has also been a part of three Super Bowl teams — the Eagles, Patriots and Buccaneers.

In 76 career games, he’s rushed for 416 yards and three touchdowns, while hauling in 28 receptions for 152 yards. He’s also returned 91 punts for 677 yards and one touchdown, and 55 kickoffs for 1,291 yards.

In addition to Barner, the Giants also worked out wide receivers Jaydon Mickens and Chester Rogers. Both were undrafted free agents in 2016 who have made a living as reserves and return men.

Of the three, Jaydon Mickens was signed to the practice squad. In order to clear room for him, offensive lineman Roy Mbaeteka had his contract terminated.

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Bucs place RB Kenjon Barner on injured reserve

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have placed running back Kenjon Barner on injured reserve, ending his 2022 season

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be without one of their running backs for the rest of the 2022 season.

Kenjon Barner has been placed on injured reserve, the team announced Monday.

Barner has 18 rushing yards on seven carries in Saturday night’s preseason opener against the Miami Dolphins, adding 13 yards on two receptions.

To fill Barner’s spot on the 90-man active roster, Tampa Bay signed former Dolphins running back Patrick Laird.

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Ranking the best rushing tandems in Oregon Ducks football history

The departure of CJ Verdell and Travis Dye got us thinking…where do they rank among the best rushing tandems in Oregon history? We decided to find out…

When it comes to the running back position, the Oregon Ducks have always seemed to find a lot of success. Over the past several decades, that’s a spot in the offense that has received a lot of attention, and rightfully so, as multiple all-conference and future NFL players came through Eugene.

That’s partly why it feels a little weird going into the 2022 season without a “known quantity” in the backfield. After the departure of CJ Verdell and Travis Dye, the Ducks don’t have an RB on the depth chart with more than 500 total yards (Byron Cardwell rushed for 417 in 2021.) Oregon will be placing a lot of faith in the current backs on the roster — Cardwell, Sean Dollars, Seven McGee, and Jordan James — to shoulder the load going forward and keep up the tradition of a strong running game in Eugene.

While it feels likely that we could see the blossoming of a new dominant duo in the coming months, the departure of Verdell and Dye got us thinking about the past. Who are the best rushing tandems that Oregon has ever seen? I’m not talking about the best running backs, but the best 1-2 punches. The best compliments to each other. The pairs who never gave the defense a chance to breathe, because as soon as one went off the field, a player of equal caliber came in to replace him.

Doing the research to answer this question wasn’t straightforward. We took into account career rushing yards, receiving yards, touchdowns, and ranks on Oregon’s all-time career rushing list. Then you have to factor in that a lot of these guys didn’t play their entire careers together, and may have only overlapped for a season or two. We added weight to their combined place on the all-time rushing list — if the No. 7 and No. 11 players were a duo, they might be ranked higher than the No. 2 and No. 23 player, for example. Lastly, we took into account a couple of players who made a huge impact in their short times at Oregon; the combined ranking may not look great, but anyone who watched them knows they belong pretty high on the list.

After taking all of that into consideration, the results were pretty fascinating. You have a pair of undisputed winners, a few quarterbacks that snuck onto the list, and a pair of players who anyone under the age of 40 may struggle to remember. In the end, it offered a fun look at the past several decades of Oregon history, and showed truly how important the running back position has been for the Ducks. Enjoy.

Travis Dye has cemented his place in Oregon Ducks history

Travis Dye might decide to return to the Ducks for his senior season. If he doesn’t, though, his name is already cemented in the record books.

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The Valero Alamo Bowl was not a banner performance for the Oregon Ducks. Nearly 500 yards of offense and over 30 points were a nice way to end the season, but the Oklahoma Sooners were able to find more success, putting up 47 points and almost 600 yards of offense.

It’s easy, and completely justified, to blame the lack of depth on Oregon’s roster for the loss, and while it’s a tough way to end a once-promising 2021 season, there should be no blame or hard feelings about the defeat.

While it was unfortunate to watch play out, there was one good thing that came from the game. Running back Travis Dye cemented his place in the Oregon Ducks history books.

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During the first half of a game in which Dye stood as one of the lone trustworthy sources of Oregon offense with 181 total yards and a touchdown, the junior RB surpassed the 3,000-yard mark for his career, becoming just the 5th player in Duck’s history to do so. Dye now stands alongside Royce Freeman, LaMichael James, Kenyon Barner, and Derek Loville in the record books.

We don’t yet know if Dye will be returning to Eugene for his senior season, but if he does, his legacy with the Ducks could grow even larger. Let’s take a look at the career numbers:

Freeman is first in Oregon history with 5,621 total rushing yards and 64 touchdowns. James follows him with 5,082 yards and 57 TDs; Barner is next with 3,623 yards and 48 TDs; Loville follows with 3,296 yards and 45 TDs.

Then there is Dye, who now has 3,111 career rushing yards and 29 total touchdowns. Should he decide tomorrow that his career at Oregon is done, it’s safe to say that he will go down in history as one of the best RBs to come through the program.

If he should return, then it could add to an already great career.

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