RB Rotation

[ducks5ever]

What's going on with this RB rotation? I don't mean to start posting negative stuff after a massive win, but this RB rotation is a hindrance right now to Oregon's ability to win big games down the road.

1. Whittington. He's not 100%, and didn't play for most of the game. Then he almost fumbles away the game
2. Limar. He brings nothing to the table. Maybe he can pass protect and not fumble the ball, but he doesn't move the pile and he's not a homerun threat. It's infuriating that they gave him 6 carries when he averages less than 3 ypc with a long of a massive 5 yards. Maybe that fumble on that OT drive will finally convince the staff that he's a liability
3. Dierre Hill. Speedy/shifty back. Good for change of pace but he's too small to be an every down back
4. Davison. Battering ram. Only really relevant for short yardage situations but he's dang effective at it

Where the heck are Riggs and Makhi Hughes? Are they really going to just have them sit on the bench when I personally think that this duo is better than Whittington [in his current recovery form] and a Limar [who just doesn't bring anything]? Even Jay Harris is better than Limar but what do i know.

In my humble opinion it should be:
1. 1 of Harris/Riggs/Hughes
2. Whitt
3. Hill
4. Davison for short yardage

Riggs and Hughes don't have enough snaps for me to form a strong opinion on but this RB rotation they trotted out tonight was painful to watch

[Xenocide23]

Limar is a very great blocker in two back sets and also excels in pass protection. He isn't a great runner but he isn't bad either the coaches trust him because he knows the entire playbook. Whitt is similar to Limar and a slightly better runner when healthy but obviously that is not the case right now.

Hill has the most all around talent but likely has a limited understanding of the playbook so can only be used in limited formations. The same applies to hill although obviously both players have completely different strengths.

Riggs and Hughes appear to have been beat out in camp. I think Hughes may have struggled picking up the playbook too which is why he isn't seeing the field.

[UOducksTK1]

True. Limar is not a great runner. Hill is definitely the most talented, felt that way before. Crazy that him and Davison were in so many plays tonight though, this surprised me.

During fall camp, I thought Hughes/Riggs would be getting more touches than Hill/Davison are.

[OregonFan4Life]

I’m excited for the 1-2 punch Hill and Davison will be in the coming years.

[buckmarkduck]

Hughes didn’t even make the trip. Why are people still expecting anything from him? Hill is clearly our best RB, and Davison will probably be 2 by the SC game. Not sure how anyone watching Hill run the way he does, has anything negative to say about him. He deserves 15-20 carries a game.

[wepto]

I'd say Hill is clearly the most talented RB. If he's not up to speed on the playbook, coaches/teammates need to get him up to speed. He needs to be either RB-1 or (at the very least)RB-1B by the end of the regular season. We're getting him for 3 years max, he'll be an early entry.

I don't have a strong preference for RB2. But I think they're playing too many guys.

Whitt makes me nervous. Dropping the ball before entering the end zone last year. The overturned fumble from this game. Coaches seem to trust him.

Limar is all around solid. But he isn't really exceptional in any way.

Riggs still looks very athletic. More so than Harris, Davison, Limar or Hughes. We haven't seen enough of him for me to really form an opinion though. Might have issues pass blocking well enough for the coaches to trust him, or issues with the playbook. Want to see more, but suspect we won't. A point in his favor is that he's a redshirt freshman, he could get bigger and develop.

Davison has a niche. Using him as a short yardage back has worked so far. Hopefully he stays 4 years and develops into a more general purpose back that excels at short yardage. He averaged more ypc than either Whitt or Limar against PSU and one of his runs was cut short by scoring. I wouldn't mind seeing him more in non-short-yardage situations.

Hughes was good enough at Tulane that I want to see more of him. But he got 0 carries this game, so that's probably not going to happen. This is game 5, and I didn't see him enter the game--but I don't know if he still has his redshirt available. We could see him enter the portal.

Harris looks alright. He's big for a RB. But kinda like Limar, not enough upside.

I'd split carries between Hill, Davison and Hughes for Indiana.

But I think the coaches have moved on from Hughes (or maybe he's redshirting and will try for next year, but I doubt that). So I hope we see Hill/Whitt/Davison split carries.

[Duck07]

Well for those of you who are hating on Jayden Limar you may get your wish that he's out of the rotation going forward.

[OregonFan4Life]

Well for those of you who are hating on Jayden Limar you may get your wish that he's out of the rotation going forward.

Why do you say that? Did he get injured?

[ducks5ever]

Hill looked great last night but the hunt for the feature back continues and I'm not entirely sure it will be Hill.

It's important to remember that Oregon had good control of the LOS and it appears (to my limited knowledge) that Penn State was more interested in stopping explosive plays over the top. There will be opponents somewhere down the line where neither of these conditions may be true, at which 2 questions emerge:
1. Can Hill create his own yards?
2. Can Hill break arm tackles?

Based off of the performance last night, neither of those questions can be definitively answered. He didn't look particularly difficult to bring down after the defense got a grasp of him.

Same 2 questions go for any back that ends up being the feature back. We should have that RB somewhere on this team with so many scholarship RB's.

[Duck07]

Well for those of you who are hating on Jayden Limar you may get your wish that he's out of the rotation going forward.

Why do you say that? Did he get injured?

Yes, from what I was told and that he was already playing through an injury.

[OregonFan4Life]

Well for those of you who are hating on Jayden Limar you may get your wish that he's out of the rotation going forward.

Why do you say that? Did he get injured?

Yes, from what I was told and that he was already playing through an injury.

What a bummer, is it related to the targetting that wasn’t called? After I read your initial message I randomly had someone text me they heard he got seriously injured in the neck or head from that hit.

[GrandpaDuck]

Sure Hill can be a feature back. He has moves like Jagger, I mean DAT. Elusive, good stiff arm, Like DAT and James he''ll go down easily if you hit him square but he seems to have their ability to make most contact glancing and he can run through that. He's not an A gap bulldozer short yardage back but those guys are seldom your feature back.

Hill is already the teams leading rusher in total yards and yards per carry and its not even close. Hughes, Riggs and Harris have shown nothing this year while Hill's still averaging over 10 yards a carry with his best output being the Northwestern game where our O-line got their ass kicked all game long.

[OregonFan4Life]

Watched the condensed game, and I know this may not be a popular statement, but I do think Hill and Davison are better than Whittington and Limar right now.

[OrTDuck]

"After I read your initial message I randomly had someone text me they heard he got seriously injured in the neck or head from that hit."

I was listening to the post game on the radio and he got pulled in for an interview and didn't mention a serious injury (or seem like a player dealing with something like that). After the targeting replay, Oregon ran 3 more offensive plays in the game and he was in at RB in all 3.

Maybe something turned up once they got back to Eugene?

[spacefrog13x]

"After I read your initial message I randomly had someone text me they heard he got seriously injured in the neck or head from that hit."

I was listening to the post game on the radio and he got pulled in for an interview and didn't mention a serious injury (or seem like a player dealing with something like that). After the targeting replay, Oregon ran 3 more offensive plays in the game and he was in at RB in all 3.

Maybe something turned up once they got back to Eugene?

I heard concussion but thats 3rd hand and if he continued to play, I doubt thats the case. Lanning takes head injuries very seriously (unlike the previous two coaches..).