The Oregon Ducks roster is undergoing a significant transition from 2024 to 2025, and the spring season, which is in full swing, is the time for programs across the country to see how their pieces will fit together come September. Dan Lanning and the Ducks are faced with replacing several key positions, including the running back spot.
Last season, the Ducks' run game was led by junior Jordan James, who averaged 5.7 yards per carry in three seasons with the Ducks. 2024 was James' sole season as Oregon's top back, and he finished the year with 1,267 rushing yards and 15 TDs before declaring for the NFL Draft.
After losing James, the Ducks went to the transfer portal and picked up Makhi Hughes, who excelled in two seasons at Tulane and is Oregon's projected starter for 2025. Veteran Oregon RB Noah Whittington, who has given Oregon's run game elite support since 2022, will be rushing behind Hughes this fall, and after practice on Thursday, Whittington had high praise for the Ducks' newest back.
"I think he brings a sense of violence," Whittington said of Hughes. "There are a lot of people in our room, where it's the same thing. He doesn't take contact; he enforces it. It's the same thing within his running style. He's a big body, he's fast. I don't think anybody is really gonna want to tackle him."
In 28 games over those two seasons with the Green Wave, Hughes rushed for 2,779 yards and 22 TD, averaging 5.3 YPC. His 1,378 yards as a freshman in 2023 led the AAC, and in 2024, he beat his previous best, rushing for 1,401 yards.
At 5 feet 10 inches and 190 pounds coming out of high school, Hughes was rated as a 3-star recruit by 247Sports, and he wasn't ranked as a top 100 RB in the class of 2022. Three years later, he's become a Freshman All-American, All-AAC First Team player, AAC Rookie of the Year, and a Doak Walker Semifinalist.
Like Whittington said, "He brings a sense of violence."
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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Oregon Ducks RB Noah Whittington praises Tulane transfer Makhi Hughes
