Led by CJ Verdell and Travis Dye, the Ducks running backs might be the best duo the country has to offer.
The Oregon Ducks have enjoyed the services of a lot of quality running backs in its history, but the dynamic duo of CJ Verdell and Travis Dye has the chance to eventually go down as one of the best.
Both are juniors that already have plenty of accolades attached to their names. Verdell has already gone on record as to saying he wants to rush for 2,000 yards this season. Oregon has never had a tailback go for 2,000 yards in a single season, but if someone has a chance to do it, Verdell could be the guy.
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Oregon will most likely rely on its running game this season with an inexperienced Pac-12 quarterback calling the signals, so offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead will likely be calling Verdell’s number a lot throughout the year.
Having his number called in virtually every situation is something Verdell is used to. In his freshman season, he rushed the ball 202 times in 13 games for 1,018 yards and 10 touchdowns. Verdell equaled his initial success his sophomore season with 198 rushing attempts for 1,220 yards and eight scores. In 2020, the junior was slowed by a couple of injuries that allowed him to just gain 285 yards (57 ypg) in five contests and three touchdowns.
Now fully healthy, Verdell believes he and his team is due for a monster season.
“The main goal here ever since Coach Cristobal took over the program and going in the direction we’ve been going is to definitely get into that playoff and win a national championship,” he said in a press conference last week.
If those goals are to be accomplished, Verdell is going to need Dye to shoulder some of the load. Dye is the speed back with Verdell’s power.
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No longer considered Troy Dye’s younger brother, Travis has turned into a quality tailback himself and is a weapon receiving the ball as well. At 5-foot-10 and 200 pounds, Dye has 37 career receptions for 467 yards and six touchdowns through the air.
When Verdell was sidelined much of the latter half of 2020 with a thumb injury, Dye became the starting tailback where he flourished. In those seven games, he gained 443 yards and averaged nearly seven yards per carry.
In goal-line situations, the Ducks relied on Cyrus Habibi-Likio, but the power back decided to move on to Boise State, leaving those situations to Verdell and Dye.
Behind those two main tailbacks, redshirt freshman Sean Dollars was looking to see more playing time, but he suffered a considerable leg injury, so he won’t see action until the middle of the season, according to Cristobal.
True freshman Seven McGee, a four-star recruit from Rochester, NY, won’t be on campus until June. So Aaron Smith, a 5-11, 205-pounder from San Jose, Calif. has received the other snaps in Spring practice. Whether he sees the field come September remains to be seen, but just being able to get those early reps in is going to be invaluable to him.
Senior Anthony Brown is the starting quarterback, but freshman Ty Thompson isn’t going to make Mario Cristobal’s decision an easy one.
Nearly every head football coach wants a healthy positional competition in spring practices as it tends to make the players better, causing the cream to rise to the top.
If there is one spot on the football field the coach wants to be sure of it’s the quarterback. But if that all-important spot isn’t a sure thing, you want two talented players to compete.
That’s exactly what faces Oregon Ducks head coach Mario Cristobal, as he watches senior Anthony Brown and freshman Ty Thompson battle each other. It’s a decision that will be so close that Cristobal might not be able to make it until the fall.
Whatever that decision is, however, the Ducks will be in good hands.
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Brown came to Eugene last season after a three-year career at Boston College. His time with the Eagles was hit-and-miss because of injuries, but when he was able to see the field, Brown was able to tear apart Big East defenses.
In those three seasons, Brown threw for 40 touchdowns and 4,738 yards. Those numbers would be bigger, but he suffered a season-ending injury after six games as a junior.
Once healthy again, Brown transferred to Oregon looking to start, but then the pandemic hit last year and put spring practices on hold. His progress in offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead’s system was hampered, so the staff went with Tyler Shough, the known quantity.
But Brown slowly worked his way onto the field as the season went along. He played well in the Pac-12 title game where he threw for two touchdowns against USC, and then again in the Fiesta Bowl. Despite the 34-17 loss to Iowa State, Brown rushed for two touchdowns and threw for 147 yards in part-time duties, splitting reps with Shough.
After the season, Shough transferred, making Brown the incumbent, but when Oregon recruited and signed the program’s first-ever five-star quarterback, the Ducks suddenly had a decision to make at quarterback.
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Thompson is the Ducks’ first five-star signal-caller to sign. He stands at 6-foot-4 and weighs 215 pounds. Thompson was Arizona’s top prep football player last season and was rated as the No. 2 dual-threat quarterback in the country.
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At Mesquite High School in Gilbert, Ariz., the two-time state champion ended his career throwing for 9,891 yards and 100 touchdowns, while also rushing for 1,145 yards, averaging nearly five yards a rush and 20 scores.
It’s difficult to ignore a talent like that, and since Thompson is an early enrollee, it gives the freshman the best possible chance to start right away.
As the schedule is set, no one would blame Cristobal if he wanted to go with the upper-classman. Ohio State looms as the second game of the season in the 12-game slate and having a true freshman enter the Horseshoe in Columbus, Ohio might be too much to ask.
Oregon has the talent at the other positions to be the favorite to win the Pac-12 title and possibly sneak into the College Football Playoff if everything falls into place for the Ducks.
This one decision might determine the destiny of the 2021 Oregon Ducks football team.
After going through some different offensive and defensive-minded coaching candidates, let’s look at 15 college coaches worthy of a look from Atlanta in 2021.
One of the top candidates for Auburn’s head coaching job is staying put.
One of the top candidates for Auburn’s head coaching job is staying put.
Mario Cristobal has agreed to a 6-year, $27 million contract to stay in Oregon. The contract has increased his buyout from $8 million to $9 million this year.
Cristobal is one of the top recruiters and offensive line coaches in the country, and has a 24-9 record as the head coach at Oregon.
Just getting started. Fired up to announce that Coach Cristobal’s contract has been extended! @coach_cristobal | #GoDucks
Auburn has taken a coaching search to the inane as the powers that be continue fighting while some possible back stabbing has occurred.
It has only been four days since Gus Malzahn was thrown out the door by powerful boosters and there have already been enough storylines to fill a book.
Infighting between the aforementioned boosters. Continued silence by athletic director Allen Greene outside of a prepared statement. Auburn fans already preparing for a bad hire. Some possible back stabbing?
Yes, not even the writers of Days of Our Lives could come up with some of the crazy nonsense that goes on down on the Plains during a coaching search.
It seemed as if it was going to be so simple. Boosters pay the money to Malzahn with a replacement already settled on and we could look forward to 2021 and the start of a new era. How naive we all must have been to believe this narrative.
The search went from zero to inane in a matter of seconds.
Was there a possible deal for Mario Cristobal that fell through after Oregon was put in the Pac-12 Championship Game in place of Washington? Maybe. As of Thursday at 1:20 p.m., Cristobal has been offered a new contract — six years worth $27.3 million — and all he has to do is sign. Will Auburn come back with a counteroffer?
Why were the boosters so afraid of going after Hugh Freeze? Granted, there is some baggage but I laughed at the fans on Twitter who claimed they didn’t want Freeze because of his troubles at Ole Miss. These are the same people who welcomed Bruce Pearl with open arms and have no problem with the football field being named after a coach that famously got the program on major probation.
What about Steve Sarkisian? Billy Napier? Bueller? Bueller?
Yet all the disagreements between the powers that be has turned Auburn into a national punchline again and, if the new coach isn’t a home-run hire, the reaction will be even worse. That will especially be the case if it is Steele.
Auburn paid $21 million to get rid of a coach only to hire his defensive coordinator, a guy with a 9-36 record as a head coach and is 62 years old? Yeah, that won’t go over well. It certainly won’t go over well if it comes out that Steele was all part of a coup that got his boss tossed. Et tu, Steele?
All of this is turning what happened in 2003 into the good ole days. At least Auburn had a plan, even if that was going behind the back of Tommy Tuberville for a man of questionable morals like Bobby Petrino. At least they were going after one of the highest sought-after coaches in the game at the time.
Heck, this is making Tennessee’s search for a coach in 2017 look competent.
It has long been wide-spread knowledge that the person who is supposed to be in charge of the athletics program, the athletic director, is basically a yes-man to Jimmy Rane, Bill Harbert and … gulp … Bobby Lowder. Of course, Auburn isn’t the only school that has this problem it’s just most of the time these men screw up.
They care more about their egos and power than Auburn itself, plain and simple. The football program is just a game of Risk to them.
So, when all of this is over and Auburn likely comes away with anything but a home-run hire, you can put another chapter in the story of Auburn screwups.
Kevin Steele is currently the odds-on favorite to become the next Auburn head football coach per Vegas.
The search to see who becomes the new head coach at Auburn is underway after Gus Malzahn was fired after eight seasons this past Sunday.
Per Vegas, the Tigers might not have to look far for their next head coach as defensive coordinator Kevin Steele is now the favorite to land the position.
Steele, who has spent the last five seasons at Auburn and will serve in the interim head coaching role for the bowl game, was a head coach once, that coming at Baylor from 1999-2002. During that stretch, the Bears went 9-36.
Former Alabama quarterback Josh Palet discusses Crimson Tide football, who replaces Nick Saban.
No. 2 Alabama (4-0, 4-0 SEC) will play at Tennessee (2-2, 2-2 SEC) Saturday in Week 5 of a 10-game SEC-only schedule.
The Crimson Tide enter the contest following a 41-24 victory over Georgia.
Alabama’s Nick Saban is aiming for his seventh national championship as a head coach. He won one national championship at LSU (2003) and five with the Crimson Tide (2009, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017).
Josh Palet played quarterback for Saban at Alabama from 2015-16. Ahead of Saturday’s matchup, he joined the show “Tennessee Two-A-Days” to discuss his time with Saban, Steve Sarkisian and Jeremy Pruitt at Alabama.
Jan 1, 1993; New Orleans, LA, USA: FILE PHOTO; Alabama Crimson wide receiver David Palmer (2) carries the ball past teammate Dabo Swinney (88) against the Miami Hurricanes during the 1993 Sugar Bowl at the Superdome. Alabama defeated Miami 34-13 to win the national championship. Mandatory Credit: RVR Photos-USA TODAY Sports
A topic of discussion this week has been Saban’s replacement as head coach when he decides to retire.
Former Alabama wide receiver (1990-92) and assistant (1993-2000) Dabo Swinney is ideally the Crimson Tide’s first call to replace Saban. He has won two national championships as Clemson’s head coach (2016, 2018) and could ultimately remain with the Tigers and the program that he has built.
Sarkisian, who currently serves as Alabama’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, was previously in the same position for the Crimson Tide. He was offensive coordinator for one game in 2016 after being an analyst that season.
Jan 9, 2017; Tampa, FL, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian (left) and head coach Nick Saban react after a touchdown against the Clemson Tigers during the third quarter in the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship Game at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
After winning the SEC championship in 2016, and two days following defeating Washington in the College Football Playoff semifinal, Saban relieved Lane Kiffin of his offensive coordinator duties as he previously accepted the head coaching position at Florida Atlantic.
With one week to prepare for a national championship game against Clemson, Sarkisian was promoted to offensive coordinator for the title game. Alabama lost to Clemson, 35-31, in the contest.
“That was a crazy situation,” Palet said. “Everyone knows Lane Kiffin was hired at FAU, and we were still in the middle of our season. We had a coach here who is calling plays, but is recruiting for another school. We had Washington coming up, I thought he did a good job, but we only scored 24 points against a Pac-12 team that we put up 52 against USC earlier in the year.
“So our offense was disappointed that we did not put up more points. I think Saban said you go to FAU and do your recruitment process and we have Sarkisian right here, who is really similar to Lane Kiffin. They have almost the same exact play calls. I thought it was a good transition. I thought he did a fantastic job. It was not his fault that we lost to Clemson.”
Palet mentioned that Sarkisian fields “an extremely fun offense to watch” and one that “gives the ball to play-makers.”
“Sarkisian is very creative and a guy that you do not know what is coming next,” Palet said.
Oct 20, 2018; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Jeremy Pruitt and Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban greet each other after the game at Neyland Stadium. Alabama defeated the Vols 58-21. Mandatory Credit: Bryan Lynn-USA TODAY Sports
Pruitt, now in his third season as Tennessee’s head coach, was Alabama’s defensive coordinator in 2016 when Palet was with the Crimson Tide.
“He is a great person,” Palet said of Pruitt. “A big reason Tennessee has so many great recruits is because he is such a good person. You can tell that when you talk to him. Jeremy Pruitt was so loved by everybody – the players loved him.
“Players (at Tennessee) are buying in because the coach is genuinely invested in you as a person. That is why Nick Saban is so successful because he actually cares about his players. Jeremy Pruitt is the same way – you just want to play harder. I think that is why Tennessee is going to be on the rise for awhile and they should keep Jeremy Pruitt as long as they can.”
The time will come soon enough for when Saban decides to retire from the sport he has been able to compete at a championship level annually since arriving at Alabama in 2007.
Jan 11, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide’s Mario Cristobal against the Clemson Tigers in the 2016 CFP National Championship at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Coaches that served as assistants for Saban will be at the forefront of replacing him if Swinney decides to remain at Clemson.
Sarkiaisn, Pruitt and Oregon head coach Mario Cristobal will be looked upon to fill Saban’s head coaching position. Cristobal served as Alabama’s assistant head coach, recruiting coordinator and oversaw the Crimson Tide’s offensive line from 2013-16 when Palet was in the program.
Palet views Sarkisian as the leading candidate ahead of Pruitt and Cristobal if Swinney elects to remain at Clemson.
“If Sarkisian is still the offensive coordinator, it has to be him if Dabo stays at Clemson,” Palet said of who is likely to replace Saban. “By then Sark will have built relationships through recruiting, coaching and winning at Alabama. I believe he is the obvious choice if he is still in the program.”
The entire show with Palet can be listened to here or below.
