In a interview for FishDuck.com on Monday, I got to speak with Oregon’s longest tenured football coach Gary Campbell.
Oregon displayed a tremendous effort on both sides of the football in their win against the Washington Huskies this past Saturday. The Ducks’ tenacious defense completely shut down Washington’s run game, while only allowing 4.8 yards per pass. Furthermore, Oregon was able to amass over 200 yards rushing for the second consecutive week and running back Royce Freeman was the leader of the offensive attack. The freshman had 29 carries for 169 yards and four touchdowns.
Campbell has been very pleased with the Ducks’ offensive attack, but in particular the run game. “With our offensive line healthy and our backs running hard and breaking tackles the way I expect them to, then our running game can be like that all the time,” he said.
Royce Freeman blasts through the Husky line
The Ducks have used a plethora of running backs this year, and although Royce Freeman is the only Oregon tailback to gain over 100 yards rushing in a single game, the coaching staff wants to continue mixing up the run game allowing them to display their talented backfield. “It’s always done by committee. We’re going to try to keep fresh guys in there and that’s what we do,” Campbell said. “When one guy is in and get’s a little bit tired we’re going to get somebody else in. That’s kind of the way we do it. We’ll keep a fresh guy in there so we can get the best out of the guys that are playing.”
Although the Ducks were able to celebrate their victory over the Huskies on Saturday night, their focus quickly shifted to the California Golden Bears, who they will play this Friday at the newly built Levi Stadium in Santa Clara, California. Coach Campbell understands that the much improved Golden Bears will present a new challenge. “I think its like any other team. They worked on the things that they thought they were deficient in,” he said. “Their players worked hard in the offseason and every coaching staff in the country works in their deficiencies in the offseason. They did a heck of a job of improving.”
While Oregon is known across the country for having multiple offensive weapons, it looks like they might be adding more ammunition to their arsenal. Junior tight end Pharaoh Brown has emerged as a real threat. “Pharaoh is getting healthy and he’s a force when he’s carrying the football,” Campbell said. “He’s one of the better blockers out there. The more we can get him involved the better we are offensively, and the more weapons we have we can keep the defense from keying in on anybody in particular.”
The Ducks look to continue their winning ways in Santa Clara this Friday.
Feature Photo by Craig Strobeck
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My name is Omar Garibay and I am a journalism student at the University of Oregon. I was born and raised in Salem, Oregon and I have dreamed of living in Los Angeles since I was 14-years-old. My dream career would be to work for ESPN LA, The Los Angeles Times or as a beat writer for the Los Angeles Lakers or Dodgers. Twitter: @omargaribay8