Seven McGee Connects With Oregon Great De’Anthony Thomas

On Monday, freshman running back Seven McGee talked about competition, and about a direct message he received from a former Duck.

Author:
John Rustik
Publish date:
Oct 12, 2021 2:43 PM EDT

After a tough loss to Stanford and a season-ending injury to star running back CJ Verdell shaking Oregon’s offense, the Ducks look to re-assemble against California. Part of their turnaround will be figuring out what to do with the running back rotation.

One player who is primed to step up is freshman Seven McGee, whose season outlook looks a bit different than it did even before the last game.

“Competing is trying to be great,” McGee said when talking to reporters on Monday. “I’m just trying to take that lead role and take the next step.”

While he is surely getting advice from his coaches as well as Verdell and Travis Dye, another former Oregon football player seems to have taken an interest in him.

“I just recently talked to De’Anthony Thomas. I DM'd him on Instagram,” The freshman said. “He told me to slow the game down. Try to look at the game, and picture yourself in practice and in the game doing everything right.”

Duck fans will look back with fondness on the memories that De’Anthony Thomas brought to Oregon football. Thomas was absolutely instrumental in putting Oregon football in the national spotlight with his electric speed and his knack for making highlight reel plays.

It was in the 2012 Rose Bowl that Thomas exploded for a 91 and a 64-yard touchdown runs in the same game, helping Oregon capture their first Rose Bowl win in just under 100 years.

Thomas messaging the Duck running back makes perfect sense, because they are very similar.

They have the exact same height, with both players measuring in at 5’9". While Thomas was 169 pounds while at Oregon, McGee is weighing in at heavier 181 pounds.

With them being smaller backs, it isn’t power that makes them so good; it’s their speed. Thomas used his speed and quick movements to create countless highlights of him slipping through an entire defense with ease.

After playing three seasons for Oregon, Thomas managed to run a 4.50 40-yard dash time at the NFL Combine. He ran track at UO when he wasn’t competing in football.

According to McGee, the freshman can run a 40-yard dash in 4.3 seconds. If Oregon can work to get McGee in the open field, he could cause some serious damage with that kind of speed. Speed that Oregon really hasn’t seen since Thomas left.

Another way Oregon hopes to utilize McGee is in the pass game like they did Thomas. The former Duck racked up 92 receptions for 14 touchdowns in his three seasons at Oregon. McGee has been used as a slot receiver for the Ducks and had an important 27-yard reception coming out of the backfield against Arizona, which helped Oregon hold off a comeback.

The Ducks have shown that they want McGee to impact the game in multiple ways.

With Verdell gone for the whole season, it seems like the freshman will get more reps than expected, giving him a great opportunity to leave his mark on Oregon football.

McGee will get his first chance to prove himself in a larger role this Friday when the Ducks return to Autzen against Cal at 7:30 p.m.

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