Oregon Running Back Da'Jaun Riggs Details Difficult Injury Journey

Oregon redshirt sophomore running back Da'Jaun "Dink" Riggs appeared in five games during the 2025 season battling injuries that eventually shut him down for the rest of the year. Now in fall camp before the 2026 season, Riggs is battling for a role along side Ducks running backs Jordon Davison and Dierre Hill Jr., who shined as true freshmen.

Riggs opened up about his injury recovery as well as his thought process on the sidelines during the 2025 season after Wednesday's practice:

"I wanna say my late freshman year I started dealing with groin issues. Turned to be something real bad to where I couldn't run full speed, and then finally got back from that. Then I hurt my foot in practice. I happened to be in a boot, and it took me out for the rest of the season," said Riggs.

oregon ducks da'jaun riggs injuries running back autzen stadium noah whittington jordon davison dierre hill jr 2026 fall camp — Fighting Ducks running back Da'Jaun Riggs carries the ball during the Oregon Ducks annual spring game on April 25, 2026 at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

When asked what he took away from his injury, Riggs showed off a fresh perspective.

"It bothered me a lot, because I know how talented I was. Due to injuries, having to sit on the side, it gave me a different perspective. How I just need to work, 'cause any day this game can be taken away from me. So when I got injured, I was just telling myself when I get back I was gonna work as hard as I could," Riggs continued.

Everything Da'Jaun Riggs Said

Leaning on Noah Whittington

"Before fall camp, I actually called Noah (Whittington). Talking about his camp at Texans right now, we were talking about it, and he was just telling me, 'You just gotta focus on yourself. You just gotta work hard every day.' One thing about Oregon football, they see everything. No matter from stretching to team run to special teams. So if you just go out there, compete with yourself, work hard, love your brothers, they're gonna see it. Really, he just told me to keep my head up and keep working. They see talent and they gonna put the best players on the field for sure."

On Jordon Davison, Dierre Hill Jr.

"Them guys are great guys. I love competing against them every day. They push me, I push them. We love each other to death. But I'm just trying to get in where I can fin in. I'm gonna work hard as I can from wherever they need me, that's where I'm gonna be at. I ain't really worried about nothing else, just focusing on myself, just doing what I'm supposed to do this month, and whatever happens in September is what happens in September."

What Makes Oregon's Running Back Room Special

"Got a lot of versatile guys doing a lot of different personnels to where there's multiple backs on the field. I think that's very special, and like I said, this room's very competitive. That's what stands out about us. We're very violent, and we love to compete a lot."

What Da'Jaun Riggs Has Worked On

"Really I've been more focused on the physical part of my game. I'm very good at making people miss, but I wanted to advance my game more and being more physical, which means blocking. Instead of trying to juke a guy, if I can't, just dip my shoulder and get the five, four yards that's there. Don't try to get the 20."

On Simeon Price

"Simeon brings a lot of experience, coming from different places. He gives a lot of stories, a lot of histories. He teaches us things that we didn't know at first. Like the other day, we were going over fronts, and he was explaining how he went against the first defense, it was a 3-4 or something. And he just explained it to us, and it was just funny, and we just called him 'unc' after that."

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