The Ducks Have Roster Depth Like Never Before

2024 saw Oregon rack up 13 wins and a B1G championship, but the 2024 team had surprisingly little depth. When Matthew Bedford was lost before the season started, the offensive line was in disarray for two weeks. This season feels completely different; this season, “next man up” doesn’t feel like cliche, but a reality. Even Mr. FishDuck took a break from learning how to create order at essayservice.com to comment on the different vibe of this 2025 team.

And there is significant depth at every position. Here are just some of the highlights.

Running Back

Oregon is back to running back by committee, as they did in 2022 and 2023 when Oregon used two to three running backs in the rotation fairly regularly. In 2024, Jordan James got the lion’s share of the running back carries even though Noah Whittington’s health improved as the season progressed.

This season we have seen seven running backs carry the football in both games, and this is only counting the RBs as 12 players in both games were credited with rushing the football.

Furthermore, each back seems to have a particular role he is playing in the team’s greater game plan.

Whittington, the starter, isn’t the biggest back, but already this season he has shown better vision and more explosiveness than last year. He has the most experience with Oregon’s playbook.

Jayden Limar is the biggest surprise this season, going from third-string back to No. 2 this season — and he has flashed in the run game with two touchdowns on the season so far. But his blocking ability is really standing out as he picked up critical blocks to enable a couple Dante Moore touchdown passes. He also showed off his power as he bulldozed in for his touchdown in a short yardage situation. Limar has clearly developed over the offseason.

The other backs all have their roles as well. Dierre Hill is a burner, and got himself into the end zone with the help of some incredible blocking and his incredible speed. Jordan Davidson had another short yardage touchdown and is clearly Oregon’s go-to in short yardage situations.

Jay Harris is a bigger back but has shown the ability to catch the ball as much as running with power. Harris didn’t see the field much last year, but has clearly come a long way over the offseason.

Makhi Hughes is another surprise, as he was predicted to be the starter for the Ducks — but so far he has seen the field as the No. 4 back or later in the rotation. Against Oklahoma State he had a team high of nine carries, though many of the other backs ahead of him produced more yards on fewer carries. Is Hughes struggling with the transition to Oregon, or is the rest of the talent around him just that good? We’ll have to see how things develop.

But what is clear is that running back by committee is powerful and keeps the runners fresh all game long, and forces opposing teams to prepare for multiple RBs and their unique skill sets. And, if any running back was to go down, there is a committee of runners ready to step up.

The Offensive Line

How were Dan Lanning and company supposed to replace last year’s offensive line that won a B1G Championship and went 13-0? Well, with a healthy dip into the transfer portal and some recruits coming into their own.

Even the second string offensive line looked great against Oklahoma State. Charlie Pickard took a lot of heat last season when the coaches were figuring out their rotation in the first couple games, but at center he looked comfortable and in control of the second string line.

In both games, a starter went down with a minor injury and the offensive line just rotated players, brought in some backups, and kept on rolling as if nothing happened. For the average fan, if they didn’t see the injury happen, they would just assume the same starting linemen were in there all game long. This is a deep offensive line and one that is truly special.

So far this year none of the offensive line injuries have been serious, thankfully; however, if and when one does happen, the Ducks have skilled backups and will be able to take the hit.

The only time the offensive line looked shaky all day was when the third stringers had their shot late in the fourth quarter. Brock Thomas, the third quarterback to play, was blasted by a defender — which was called back due to an offsides call. Beyond that, the third string just never seemed to get any push against Oklahoma State. And if it takes the third string offensive line to finally make Oregon look vulnerable, that shows a deep team that has solid linemen that go at least two deep.

Defense

The defense imposed an incredible wall against Oklahoma State this last Saturday, holding the Cowboys to just three total points. Just let that sink in for a moment, Oregon had more total touchdowns in the first half, six, than Oklahoma State had total points. Most of Oklahoma State’s 211 total yards came on two series, the series where they scored a field goal and their last drive of the game against Oregon’s third or fourth string.

And what made that defensive effort so effective was how deep the Ducks’ defense is this season. A whopping 31 players recorded a tackle. The defensive Ducks were flying to the ball and putting a stop to any offensive aspirations the Cowboys had.

It didn’t hurt either that Jerry Mixon and Payton Woodyard, both in their second year with the program, both recorded pick-sixes. Neither of those players were much talked about in the preseason, and both are making a significant impact. The only reason they had those opportunities was because they were in the right place at the right time, but everyone else was doing their jobs as well.

Defensive is a team effort, and if this defense continues to improve, they will be one of the best defensive units in all of college football.

So many players have made it into the rotation this season to date that even die-hard fans can be forgiven if they can’t remember all the names and numbers of the players on the field. Isn’t that a wonderful burden for us as fans, that we may struggle to remember the names of all our stars?

David Marsh 
Portland, Oregon
Top Photo By: Scott Kelly

 

Natalie Liebhaber, the FishDuck.com Volunteer Editor for this article, works in technology in SLC, Utah.

 

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