2022 Oregon Football Spring Preview: Running Backs

With CJ Verdell and Travis Dye moving on from the program, Oregon's running back room is perhaps as open as it's ever been.

Author:
Nick Battey
Publish date:
Mar 1, 2022 1:57 PM EST

In this story:

Oregon Ducks

For the last four seasons, CJ Verdell and Travis Dye served as the central pillars of Oregon's offensive attack. Heading into spring football, the duo is no longer with the Ducks, with Verdell off to the NFL Draft, and Dye heading south to return home and spending his final season with the USC Trojans. With that, Oregon now has a wide-open running back room with a lot of young talent, but no one has logged more than 61 carries.

All three scholarship running backs will get extended looks this spring with plenty of carries to split. Byron Cardwell, Seven McGee, Sean Dollars are are all intriguing talents who bring different skill sets to Kenny Dillingham’s new offense. 2022 running back signee Jordan James, who flipped his commitment from the Georgia Bulldogs to the Oregon Ducks on National Signing Day, is reportedly not expected to be in Eugene until the summer.

Without further ado, here is a preview of the running back room this spring.

Byron Cardwell

Oregon Ducks running back Byron Cardwell takes a handoff from Anthony Brown vs. Cal.
H/W: 6’0”/210 lbs | Year: Sophomore | Total Games Played: 14

In his true freshman season with the Ducks last year, Cardwell served as the main backup to Dye after Verdell suffered a season-ending injury in early October. Cardwell finished the season with 417 rushing yards and three touchdowns. This included a seven-carry, 127-yard performance in Oregon's blowout win over Colorado.

Cardwell’s rare combination of speed and vision is part of what makes him such an appealing ballcarrier heading into the spring. The main question remains if Cardwell is ready to handle the workload of a bell cow running back. Perhaps some of that uncertainty can be linked to Dye serving as the main running back, but from what we saw it certainly looks like Cardwell has the potential to shoulder that kind of workload.

Moving forward, the staff will likely monitor his consistency to be confident in him as the main focal point in the backfield once fall camp comes around.

Seven McGee

Oregon Ducks running back Seven McGee extends for a touchdown against Colorado.
H/W: 5’9”/181 lbs | Year: Sophomore | Total Games Played: 13

McGee showed off his electric speed many times during his true freshman season, a valuable trait you'd hope to see in any back. What could make him even more of a weapon though, is his versatility--sliding out wide to play wide receiver in addition to returning punts in the tail end of 2021.

In his first year he racked up 61 rushing yards on 14 carries and added a touchdown on the ground. On the receiving end he had seven catches for 81 yards.

McGee announced the he intended to enter the transfer portal following Mario Cristobal’s departure, but quickly reversed course after talking with new Head Coach Dan Lanning. With McGee back in the fold, Dillingham will prioritize finding the most effective ways to deploy his many talents.

I think back to how Oregon utilized De’Anthony Thomas and Charles Nelson in recent years when I envision how Oregon might use McGee moving forward.

Sean Dollars

Oregon Ducks running back Sean Dollars carries the ball against USC.
H/W: 5’10”/171 lbs | Year: Redshirt-Sophomore | Total Games Played: 11

Dollars missed the entirety of the 2021 football season after injuring his leg in spring last year. While there hasn’t been official confirmation from Oregon just yet, we believe Dollars should be a full go for spring football.

Dollars is a legit talent. Similar to the aforementioned players, we really haven't seen much of him since he arrived in Eugene. Remember before his injury, Dollars was looking like a prime candidate to replace Verdell and Dye as the top back in Oregon’s offense. Ranked one of the top all-purpose backs coming out of high school, Dollars' performance in the 2020 Pac-12 Championship Game against USC turned heads and gave us a small glimpse of what's ahead for him.

That potential is still there, if Dollars can bounce back from his injury and display the explosiveness and elusiveness that made him such a highly-coveted prospect. He has just 15 carries for 128 yards and has yet to find the end zone, but with a wide-open backfield Dollars will get an opportunity under a new coaching staff to make a strong impression that he can crack the rotation in the backfield.

Aaron Smith is a walk-on to monitor in spring football, especially since James isn't expected on campus and the Ducks lost Cross Patton when he followed former Ducks linebacker coach Ken Wilson to Nevada. Smith was praised by former running backs coach Jim Mastro as a "pleasant surprise" in fall camp last season.

Two-Deep Projection:

Byron Cardwell
Seven McGee OR Sean Dollars

In this early projection I have to go with the most proven and experienced back as the main guy, so Cardwell gets the nod. It says something about the running back room that a true sophomore is the most experienced back in the room, but that also shows the high ceilings that Oregon is hoping to get out of these guys in the spring.

For the backup spot there is an “or” between McGee and Dollars for a few reasons. McGee could be moving around the field in Dillingham’s offense and that would leave more backup carries for Dollars, who, if healthy, can blaze his way to the top of this chart by spring's end.

Jordan James doesn’t crack the projection just yet because as a true freshman we haven't seen him in any capacity. But that doesn’t mean James won’t be a factor come fall. There’s always a learning curve for a true freshman and James will be attempting to get through it as fast as possible.