Tag: Noah Whittington

Social media reacts to Oregon’s dominant 49-22 blowout over Arizona Wildcats

The Ducks exercised some demons in the desert on Saturday with a blowout over Arizona. Oregon fans rejoiced online.

The Oregon Ducks have some demons that tend to come out to play whenever they travel down to the desert and face the Arizona Wildcats.

Those demons were nowhere to be found on Saturday night in Tucson.

Oregon was dominant against the Wildcats from start to finish, ultimately winning by a score of 49-22. The rushing attack for the Ducks was spectacular, racking up a total of 306 yards and 7 touchdowns on the ground, and the defense was everything you could have asked for against a dangerous Arizona passing attack. The Wildcats finished the game with only 241 yards through the air, turning the ball over 3 times.

After all of the hardships that Oregon has experienced against Arizona over the years, fans certainly enjoyed a stress-free blowout against the Wildcats. Here are some of the best reactions to the game on Twitter.

“Get Real” sessions create chemistry for the Duck football players

“Get Real” sessions help create chemistry on the field and form a bond off the field for the Ducks.

The phrase “get real” can have a number of meanings, some good and some not-so-good.

Dan Lanning and his staff has implemented what they have called “get real” sessions with the Oregon football players. They are designed for players to open up about themselves anywhere from what’s been troubling them right now to how they were brought up as a child.

It’s about maintaining mental health in a game where physical health gets 99 percent of the attention. It’s also about creating chemistry among the Ducks off the field. The thought is if you have chemistry off the field, you’ll have chemistry on the field as well.

In a game where even the slightest edge can be the difference between winning and losing, it makes it all that more important to have a close bond. It can also help players deal with adversity and tragedy such as the death of a teammate, something, unfortunately, Oregon had to face with the untimely death of tight end Spencer Webb.

For players who have been in the program for several years, leaning on each other may be easier and that chemistry may already exist. But for guys such as transfer tailback Noah Whittington from Western Kentucky, these sessions can mean even more.

During Oregon media day, Whittington noted that although he’s been in Eugene for just five months, he feels closer to these particular teammates than he has before.

That extra effort by all involved might lead to a first down to sustain a drive or perhaps blocking a little harder to give the quarterback the split second he needs to find the open receiver, which leads to victory.

 

Oregon’s Carlos Locklyn has proven immense recruiting value in early tenure with Ducks

Carlos Locklyn is on a heater. With the addition of 4-star Dante Dowdell, Oregon’s haul of players at the RB position is impressive.

When the Oregon Ducks hired Dan Lanning as the head coach early in December of 2021, it was widely believed he would continue the run of recruiting success built under Mario Cristobal and the former staff.

It turns out the impressive staff Lanning has put together in Eugene has a ceiling that may be even higher.

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One coach who has clearly proved his worth early in his tenure is running back coach Carlos Locklyn. The former Western Kentucky and Memphis coach has hit the ground running in Eugene. After the commitment from four-star running back Dante Dowdell on Friday afternoon, it’s clear Oregon’s history of talented rushers has a great chance to continue.

With Locklyn at the helm of the backfield, here are some of the RB moves the Ducks have made in the past few months:

Jordan James

  • Four-star RB, Georgia flip
  • No. 16 RB in 2022, No. 195 overall player

Noah Whittington

  • Transfer from Western Kentucky
  • 719 total yards, 2 TD in two seasons

Mar’kiese ‘Bucky’ Irving

  • Transfer from Minnesota
  • 772 yards, 4 TD in freshman season

Dante Dowdell

  • Four-star RB, chose Ducks over Ole Miss, Tennessee
  • No. 20 RB in 2023, No. 298 player overall

Those additions to the roster don’t take into account potentially two of the biggest roster moves that the Ducks have made this off-season — persuading both Seven McGee and Sean Dollars to withdraw their names from the transfer portal and return to Eugene.

Lanning’s coaching staff is loaded with individuals who can create relationships with young players and inspire them to join a movement going on at Oregon. Thus far, Locklyn has been as impressive as anyone for his ability to bring elite rushers to carry on the legacy of dominant RBs in Eugene.

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‘He’s a worker;’ Dan Lanning praises effort of running back Noah Whittington

Oregon Ducks running back Noah Whittington has impressed new coach Dan Lanning with his hard work in spring practices.

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The Oregon Ducks head into 2022 with a brand new group of running backs for new head coach Dan Lanning.

Travis Dye and CJ Verdell, one of the most dynamic running back duos in school history, have each departed – Dye down south to USC and Verdell to the NFL.

Incoming sophomore Byron Cardwell is primed to step into a big role in year two after rushing for over 400 yards as a true freshman, but the depth behind him is relatively untested.

However, coach Lanning did make sure to bring in an experienced back via the transfer portal, nabbing Noah Whittington thanks to a connection with coach Carlos Locklyn, who is now Oregon’s running back coach after working with Whittington at Western Kentucky.

Lanning thus far has been impressed with what Whittington brings to this Oregon offense, specifically his style of play and coachability.

“I mean, Noah’s a worker,” Lanning commented on Tuesday. “He’s very explosive, runs really hard, plays with a different type of effort, which is one of those things don’t ever want to spend your time coaching. You get to coach the details of Noah because he runs so hard and plays so hard.”

Whittington was dynamic for the Hilltoppers last season, rushing for over 600 yards and averaging a whopping 6.1 yards per carry.

Cardwell and Sean Dollars will probably be the top two names on the running back depth chart when the fall rolls around, but Whittington’s experience and hard working mentality should help him see the field plenty during the first year of Lanning’s head coaching career.

Contact/Follow us @Ducks_Wire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oregon Ducks news, notes, and opinion.

Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.

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Oregon RB Sean Dollars is ‘competing on another level’ in Ducks’ spring practices

Not long ago, Sean Dollars was considering a transfer from Oregon. Now he’s making a strong case to be the RB1 for the Ducks.

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It seems like just yesterday that Sean Dollars announced he would transfer from the Oregon football program.

Then again, a lot has happened since then.

After a conversation with Dan Lanning, Dollars decided to stay. Now he’s in strong contention to become Oregon’s starting tailback in 2022, battling alongside Byron Cardwell Jr. According to the new head coach, Dollars is quickly growing into the position and taking advantage of the actual coaching the staff provides the players.

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“I feel like Sean’s taking it up another notch and really competing on another level. I think he’s really embracing the coaching, and I’ve loved seeing that firsthand for him, his response,” Lanning said. “One thing we’re asking every one of our players right now is how do you respond to coaching? Sean has done a good job of that in the last few practices.”

With CJ Verdell going on to the NFL and Travis Dye transferring to USC, all expectations were that Byron Cardwell was going to take over the RB1 spot after his impressive debut season with the Ducks. However, an impressive spring season has seen Dollars throw his hat into the ring.

He’s not alone in that competition, though. Transfer Noah Whittington from Western Kentucky is also making a big push for carries. Lanning said Whittington already knows what it takes to be a consistent runner. It’s called effort.

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“Noah Whittington runs extremely hard. I think he’s a guy that has great vision at back,” Lanning said. “But he just plays with another level of effort. Which to me, if you can play with effort, we can coach the rest.”

Whittington rushed for 617 yards and two touchdowns while catching 12 passes for 58 yards in 2021. He averaged 6.1 yards per carry.

With Dollars, Whittington and Cardwell, Oregon should be just fine running the ball in 2022.

Contact/Follow us @Ducks_Wire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oregon Ducks news, notes, and opinion.

Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.

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‘Those players are explosive;’ Oregon QB gives preview of how RBs will be used in new Ducks’ offense

Oregon quarterback Ty Thompson indicated the new offense will include utilizing the Ducks’ running backs in the receiving game.

The Oregon Ducks are heading into the 2022 season with an entirely different set of playmakers on the offensive side of the ball.

Anthony Brown is gone, leaving a quarterback battle between Ty Thompson Bo Nix, and Jay Butterfield to settle things under center. Gone too are CJ Verdell, Travis Dye, and Trey Benson, leaving Oregon with very little experience in the backfield.

Byron Cardwell and Sean Dollars are expected to be the primary ball carriers this upcoming season, with Western Kentucky transfer Noah Whittington in the mix as well.

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Speaking to media after Saturday’s practice, Thompson didn’t want to reveal too much about the offense, which is undergoing some changes under new OC Kenny Dillingham. But it’s safe to say he is excited about the potential to do some different stuff in 2022.

“Those players are so explosive,” Thompson commented. “I mean, we’re doing a lot of stuff with those guys, whether it’s… I’m not gonna say a whole lot, but they’re very good players.”

Thompson is smart to avoid revealing the entire playbook months before the first game of the season, but he did provide a taste of how some of these guys are going to be utilized.

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“I mean, Byron’s gonna be huge in the run game and in the pass game,” Thompson continued. “So is Sean. Noah coming in, he’s gonna be great. I mean, everybody is gonna really help the team. So I’m really happy about that.”

Utilizing running backs in the passing game is something Oregon fans are intimately familiar with, and it sounds like Cardwell and Dollars are going to get plenty of opportunities to do exactly that – alongside Seven McGee, who is currently transitioning from running back to wide receiver this year.

Contact/Follow us @Ducks_Wire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oregon Ducks news, notes, and opinion.

Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.

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New transfers for Oregon Ducks bring experience and familiarity to the young roster

Oregon Ducks coach Dan Lanning spoke about two of the team’s newest players, RB Noah Whittington and WR Chase Cota, after Tuesday’s practice

The Oregon Ducks continue to roll through spring practices, as the new staff gets a closer look at the talent on this roster ahead of the 2022 fall season.

Much of the talent is returning from last year’s squad, but new head coach Dan Lanning did some work of his own, snagging a handful of commitments for the incoming class of 2021 while pulling some high profile players via the transfer portal.

Two of the most recent additions to the roster are playmakers on the offensive side of the ball; running back Noah Whittington and wide receiver Chase Cota, transfers from Western Kentucky and UCLA, respectively.

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Whittington was a dynamic back for Western Kentucky last season, rushing for over 600 yards and averaging a whopping 6.1 yards per carry. He follows coach Carlos Locklyn out west, as Locklyn is now the running backs coach under Lanning in Eugene.

That familiarity certainly played a factor in both sides agreeing to bring him on board.

“I mean, obviously he’s a guy that we had a background on with Coach Locklyn coaching him before,” coach Lanning said after practice on Tuesday. “So he’s a guy we were familiar with and once he became available, he’s a guy that we thought could help our roster and benefit us.”

Whittington will help shore up a running back room that has seen a ton of departures this offseason, and helps give the team flexibility to move Seven McGee out to a wide receiver role. That’s also an area with a lot of turnover this season, which includes the addition of former UCLA receiver Chase Cota.

Cota is not only familiar with Oregon thanks to his time with the Bruins, his dad – Chad Cota – was one of the most iconic defensive backs in school history, even making the school’s Hall of Fame in 2012.

“I think this place means a little bit to Chase,” Lanning commented. “You can see that he’s intelligent, he has experience, so certainly excited to see what he can do out there.”

Cota had 883 receiving yards and six touchdowns in four years at UCLA, and comes home to join the Ducks for his final year of eligibility in 2022.

Whittington and Cota may not be the stars of Oregon’s offense this fall, but both will play key roles and add experience and depth to this team as they get set to begin the Dan Lanning era in Eugene.

Contact/Follow us @Ducks_Wire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oregon Ducks news, notes, and opinion.

Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.

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RB Noah Whittington adds depth to Oregon backfield after transfer to Oregon

The Oregon backfield just got some much-needed depth after the transfer of RB Noah Whittington, who comes over from Western Kentucky.

A notable concern for the Oregon Ducks so far during spring football has been the depth at the running back position, or lack thereof, to be quite frank.

That depth got a bit of a boost on Wednesday afternoon, with Western Kentucky’s Noah Whittington announcing his transfer to the Ducks. Whittingham made a visit to Eugene this past weekend to see the campus and made his commitment shortly after.

Whittington rushed for 617 yards and two touchdowns while catching 12 passes for 58 yards in 2021. He averaged 6.1 yards per carry. Whittington played in all 12 games for Western Kentucky in 2020 as a true freshman and ran for 39 yards on 16 carries.

It’s not a huge surprise that Whittington would choose the Ducks since former Western Kentucky coach Carlos Locklyn is the new RB coach at Oregon.

After the shift from RB to WR for Seven McGee, the Ducks needed a little bit of help in the backfield, where there were a handful of walk-on players lining up in spring practice. Now Whittington will join Byron Cardwell and Sean Dollars as the other scholarship players at the position.

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