Oregon has great running backs every season and that’s still the case heading into the 2025 season with coach Ra’Shaad Samples. On Tuesday, Oregon running backs Noah Whittington and Makhi Hughes were both named to the Doak Walker Award Watch list. Oregon has had one Doak Walker Award winner in its history: running back LaMichael James in the 2010 season.
Oregon has great running backs every season and that’s still the case heading into the 2025 season with coach Ra’Shaad Samples.
On Tuesday, Oregon running backs Noah Whittington and Makhi Hughes were both named to the Doak Walker Award Watch list. The award is presented annually to “the nation’s premier running back.”
Oregon has had one Doak Walker Award winner in its history: running back LaMichael James in the 2010 season. That year he rushed for 1,682 yards and 22 touchdowns and was also a Heisman Trophy finalist. Former Duck Royce Freeman was named a semifinalist for the Doak Walker Award in 2017 when he rushed for 1,475 yards and 16 touchdowns.
Whittington, a redshirt senior, enters his fourth season with the Ducks after transferring to Oregon in 2022, following former coach Carlos Locklyn to Eugene from Western Kentucky. The 5-foot-8, 203 pound-back played in all 14 games for the Ducks in 2024 in his return from a season-ending knee injury, carrying the ball 118 times for 540 yards (4.58 YPC) and 6 touchdowns. He also chipped in as a receiver, catching 24 balls for 136 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Hughes joined Oregon this offseason after transferring from Tulane, where he spent three seasons. He utilized a redshirt during his true freshman season in 2021 after a knee injury sidelined him for the year. The 5-foot-11, 210-pound running back bounced back from injury in a major way, rushing for a combined 2,779 yards (5.3 YPC) and 22 touchdowns on 523 carries in 28 games the following two seasons. In his two seasons as a starter with the Green Wave he caught 30 passes for 243 yards and 2 touchdowns. His arrival in Eugene also reunites him with his brother, true freshman and former 5-star defensive back Na’eem Offord.
Torres’ Take
If there’s one position you don’t need to worry about Oregon having elite players at, it’s probably running back. The Ducks have had program greats like Jonathan Stewart, De’Anthony Thomas, LaMichael James and Royce Freeman tote the rock in the 21st century and now the likes of Bucky Irving and Jordan James highlight the next wave of elite Oregon backs to make it to the NFL.
Going into 2025, the expectation is that Whittington and Hughes will demand a majority of the carries for the Ducks. Whittington showed great flashes last season against Boise State, Illinois and Purdue, and fans hope that he can have a healthy season that consistently features his explosiveness, physicality and playmaking ability. Hughes is the bigger of the two backs and arrives in Eugene with tons of production in the American Athletic Conference.
We know Whittington has proven to be a reliable pass catcher out of the backfield, so I’ll be curious to see how Hughes can contribute to Oregon’s aerial attack. Those two may headline the room, but they’re hardly the only running backs to be excited about.
Da’Jaun ‘Dink’ Riggs and Jayden Limar return from a season ago and the Ducks add heralded recruits Jordon Davison and Dierre Hill Jr. to the mix.
Category: General Sports
