09/07/17 Emerald Media - Gameday Edition

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RUNNING BACK

UNIVERSITY AFTER AN AUTZEN STADIUM RECORD 9 rushing touchdowns against Southern Utah, Oregon’s deep running back corps strives to anchor the Ducks’ offense this year.

P L AY E R S T O WAT C H V S N E B R A S K A

THE STORY BEHIND OREGON’S ‘STOMP OUT CANCER’ UNIFORM S

C H A R L E S N E LS O N : J AC K O F A L L T R A D E S

GAMEDAY GAMEDAY, the Emerald’s football edition, is published by Emerald Media Group, Inc., the independent nonprofit news company at the University of Oregon founded in 1900.

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ON THE COVER

Kani Benoit and Tony Brooks-James celebrate during the game against Southern Utah.

Photograph by Phillip Quinn

GAMEDAY

PLAYERS TO WATCH BY: Aaron Alter @AaronAlter95

Offense: Tre Bryant

Nebraska Defense: Troy Dye

Oregon

In its week one matchup with Arkansas State, Nebraska’s passing attack was effective. Quarterback Tanner Lee threw for 238 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the win, but it was running back Tre Bryant who stole the show. Bryant had 31 carries for 192 yards and a touchdown, good for 6.2 yards-per-attempt. e Cornhuskers’ ability to move the chains and extend drives relies heavily on Bryant. eir offense runs through him.

Offense: Troy Dye In his 2017 debut, Troy Dye was as dynamic as ever. e switch to inside linebacker was clearly no problem, as Dye racked up ten tackles, one sack and one interception against Southern Utah. e Ducks will need him to step up again against Nebraska. If Dye is able to clamp down on the run, he’d be throwing a major wrench in the opposition’s game plan.

Watch for him to set a physical tone for the Ducks on defense.

Defense: Dedrick Young II In his two years with the program, Dedrick Young II has been a force for Nebraska’s defense. e junior linebacker recorded at least 60 tackles in each of his first two seasons.His freshman year—where he earned a spot on the Big Ten’s all-freshman team—he set a freshman school record with 61 tackles. He started 2017 off in the same vein, racking up seven tackles and a sack in the season opener. At 6-foot-1, 235 pounds, his size gives him the ability to go toe-to-toe with Royce Freeman, and he’s shown the ability to harass quarterbacks as well.

Offense: Charles Nelson Nebraska stifled Arkansas State’s rushing attack, holding them to 82 yards and zero touchdowns.

However, against the pass, the Cornhuskers’ defense was porous, allowing 415 yards and three touchdowns.

Nebraska also gave up a 63-yard punt return for a touchdown. As a strong receiver with both lateral and vertical quickness, Charles Nelson is poised for a big day. After averaging 19.8 yards-per-catch against Southern Utah, the Ducks will likely look to take advantage of his big-play ability against a suspect Nebraska secondary. While he never broke off for a big punt return in week one, Nelson has shown the ability to make big returns in years past.

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(Courtesy of Nike)

More than just another uniform BY: Shawn Medow @ShawnMedow

One week after Oregon stomped on Southern Utah in a 77-21 blowout at Autzen Stadium, the Ducks will wear uniforms in an effort to help “stomp out cancer.”

Wearing uniforms designed by three childhood cancer survivors, the Ducks have teamed up with OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital to create uniforms for the game against Nebraska. e children, Ethan Frank, Sophia Malinoski and Joe Macdonald, were accompanied by Duck football players Khalil Oliver, Tyrell Crosby and Justin Hollins, who worked with the children to come up with every aspect of the uniform, from helmet and jersey down to the cleats and gloves. “ at’s really powerful,” defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt said. “Anything that can touch on cancer and how devastating it is and how much we’ve got to work to stop it, that, I like.” e children were each paired up with a player. Frank was with Oliver, Malinoski was paired with Crosby and Macdonald was paired with Hollins.

“It means a lot,” Hollins said. “Just have somebody who looks up to me, who battled, and went through stuff like that. Be able to come back and help them and be a part of something

big with them is very humbling — it’s a blessing.”

Oregon’s uniforms for Saturday’s game have a personal meaning for associate head coach and defensive line coach Joe Salave’a.

“I lost both parents and also my father in law to cancer,” Salave’a said. “I was really excited when I saw the commitment and the rally by

“I’M HAPPY FOR THE GUYS, IT’S A GREAT CAUSE, IT PUTS MEANING, EVEN MORE FOR THE GAME.” -JOE SALAVE the community around the folks that actually brought forth the ideas and promoting that but also the families that were impacted. I’m all for anything to promote awareness — that’s something that hits home.”

Salave’a lost his father and his father-in-law last year. He said it was a difficult time, but having the deaths occur in the beginning half of football season, he had a way to take his mind off of his losses.

“It’s still fresh,” Salave’a said. “You’re still mourning but thank goodness for football and a busy schedule that you don’t really sit there and be lonely. I’m happy for the guys, it’s a great cause, it puts meaning, even more for the game, that we’re doing those things.” e uniforms, which are white with silver and yellow detail, were created one piece at a time. Macdonald designed the cleats, tights and socks; Malinoski designed the helmet and the graphic of Donald Duck stomping on the word cancer; and Frank designed the jersey, pants and the slogans “overcome” and “win the day, win the fight.”

“We’re extremely privileged to wear such an inspiring uniform for our game against Nebraska,” head coach Willie Taggart said. ”We’ll do everything in our power to play with the same tenacity exemplified by Sophia, Ethan and Joe. Wearing this uniform is a great chance to honor them and their spirit and efforts.”

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COVER

OREGON’S RUN GAME:

BREAKING TACKLES & RECORDS BY: Shawn Medow @ShawnMedow | PHOTO: Phillip Quinn & Theo Mchain Kani Benoit knew he would have a good game before Oregon’s season opener against Southern Utah.

“It was funny,” running back coach Donte running backs coach Donte Pimpleton said. “A couple days earlier in the week he came up and goes ‘coach I’m having a good game this week.’

I said, ‘I’m sure you will.’ He’s had a good camp.

He’s a talented guy.” e Ducks have been known for their running game for years, but now it seems to be at its peak.

Oregon touts a running back group that will be a focal point of its offense in 2017, and the Ducks aren’t afraid to let the world know they will be running the ball.

Tony Brooks-James put it best: “Get used to it.”

Pimpleton seamlessly began working in head coach Willie Taggart’s offense. Pimpleton and Taggart have a long history of working together: they first played and then coached together at Western Kentucky, before moving on to South Florida.

Pimpleton knows what Taggart requires from the running backs, and Pimpleton was able to apply Taggart’s philosophy on day one.

“Coach Taggart, everywhere he’s been, and

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even when we played together, he ran the football,” Pimpleton said. “So, yeah, we’re gonna run the ball. … He likes to run the ball and I like to run the ball. It sets up the pass [and] we’ve got a great quarterback so it opens everything up.” e players have taken to Pimpleton well, and even veterans are learning new skills.

“He’s taught us about the game more on how to read defenses, how to read rotations and who’s coming and who’s who,” Brooks-James said.

“We’ve definitely emphasized that and it’s helped my game a lot.”

Oregon’s emphasis on running the ball does not mean that passing will be reduced with sophomore quarterback Justin Herbert at the helm. e running backs will have an important role even when their numbers aren’t called. ey have to block. “ ey know that’s the biggest thing,” Pimpleton said. “I don’t play missing pass protection. … It’ll get the quarterback killed.” e first look at Pimpleton’s group came in the Ducks’ season opener against Southern Utah.

Oregon ran for 348 yards in a 77-21 rout of the underbirds at Autzen Stadium. Nine touchdowns came from the run game — an

Autzen Stadium single-game record.

Four of the nine touchdowns came from Freeman’s 150-yard run game, while a careerhigh three were punched in by Benoit, who also ran for a career high 107 yards.

Pimpleton compared Benoit’s skillset to that of South Florida running back Darius Tice.

“Kani is faster,” Pimpleton said. “He’s deceiving. When you look at him you go, ‘I don’t know,’ but when he gets the ball in his hands he’s actually really good. It’s like I told him, ‘you’re as good as anybody out there.’ I think he took me seriously.”

Brooks-James took the Ducks’ ground game to a different level, scoring directly from the opening kickoff in a 100-yard return to give Taggart the perfect start to his first game in charge of the Ducks.

After the game, Brooks-James said he called Oregon “RB-U — Running Back University.”

Former Oregon running back and program rushing leader LaMichael James even chimed in on the Ducks’ backfield core.

“Oregon has 3 starters at RB,” James tweeted. “ is is madness.”

While that may be true, Oregon can’t start all

three running backs at the same time. ere are options to play two at a time where one serves as a blocker or slides into a slot receiver position. But balancing playing time for three will be a challenge.

Taggart visited Freeman in December in hopes of keeping the senior for his final year of eligibility at Oregon. Taggart’s pitch hit home with Freeman.

“He wanted me to know that he was behind me 100 percent,” Freeman said. “He wanted to make all my dreams come true, just be behind me do whatever I wanted to do and get everything I want accomplished.”

OnceSince Freeman decided to return for his senior year, under his third different head coach at Oregon, there wasn’t much of a question as to who would start at running back.

“Royce is our guy — feed Royce,” Taggart said. “ en everyone else will get their carries as we go, but we’re gonna feed our horse. We’re fortunate to have three really good running backs that can come in and start.” e sharing of the ball against Southern Utah showed that Freeman is the main man, but there will certainly be snaps for the other backs. BrooksJames had nine carries while Benoit had seven.

“We don’t have any selfish guys that it’s always gotta be about them,” Taggart said. “In our offense, everybody gets to eat. Everybody gets a bit of the ball and have fun, and that’s the beauty.”

Taggart’s unselfish offense is echoed by his own players.

“I feel like it takes a lot of pressure off coach [Pimpleton] as well,” Freeman said. “Knowing that he has a deep backfield and that if any one of us gets tired or if any one of us has

We don’t have any selfish guys that it’s always gotta be about them. In our offense, everybody gets to eat.

Everybody gets a bit of the ball and have fun, and that’s the beauty.”

HEAD COACH WILLIE TAGGART

Oregon running back Kani Benoit runs into the endzone during the second quarter of the season opener. e Oregon Ducks start their season playing against the Southern Utah underbirds at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore. on September 2, 2017.

problems out there, we have more than capable, other versatile running backs behind.”

After the thumping of the underbirds, Taggart’s message about the run game can be summed up in one word: simplicity.

“Pretty simple, huh?” Taggart said.

“You can’t get any simpler than that, just feed your studs, get them the ball and let them do what they do best.” e Ducks are so deep at the position that they even pushed Taj Griffin out to wide receiver this season to make room for all the running backs. He did not play against Southern Utah due to injury.

Griffin could come back into the backfield on sweeps or while in motion. His experience at running back helps him when he moves into the slot receiver position, and time at receiver could help if he is to return to the backfield.

“It’s a different way to use me,” Griffin said. “Just get me out in space, and get me out to doing what I do best.”

Oregon could not only use Griffin as a running back if needed, but it can use wide receiver Charles Nelson too, who has similar speed and agility as a running back.

Having too many running backs is a problem Oregon is certainly fine with having. e one thing that can hurt an offense with multiple running backs is when the offensive style has to change to accompany the runner. at’s not a problem for Oregon.

“I think the beauty for us is we don’t have to change our offense because one guy’s in the game, we can continue to run the plays that we want to run,” Taggart said. “We’re gonna feed Royce and if Royce gets tired we’re gonna put the next guy in and go.”

Oregon running back Kani Benoit (29) walks into the endzone after a long rush. e Oregon Ducks start their season against the Southern Utah underbirds at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore. on September 2, 2017.

Oregon running back Royce Freeman charges for the end zone. e Oregon Ducks start their season playing against the Southern Utah underbirds at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore. on September 2, 2017.

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Nonstop EUG to San Jose Connecting the Silicon Shire to the Silicon Valley

UNIVERSITY OF OREGON ADDS TO HURRICANE HARVEY RELIEF EFFORTS BY: Maggie Vanoni @maggie_vanoni Hurricane Harvey—a category four hurricane—hit the Gulf Coast of Texas on August 25th.

Over the course of four days, Hurricane Harvey brought 40 inches of rain and winds of 130 miles per hour. Over 32,000 people were forced to evacuate their homes and seek shelter.

In response to the storm, universities all around the country began pledging their support to the recovery effort. The University of Oregon added itself to that list last on Monday, August 28.

Oregon’s Equipment Operations offered its support by collecting new and lightly used clothing from student athletes and staff to donate to those affected by Harvey in the Houston area.

“We had seen that people were being rescued from their rooftops,” Aaron Wasson, Director of Equipment Operations at Oregon said. “And all they’re taking are the clothes are on their back. They’re losing all their clothes and shoes.

We’re out here in the northwest getting ready for a football game and we’ve got to do something, we can’t just sit here and watch.”

On Twitter, the Oregon equipment staff challenged other university equipment operations across the country to follow suit. Hearing back from schools such as Penn State, Stanford, Villanova and Nevada, the response has been overwhelming.

“This lets us use our platform as equipment managers to call out the other equipment accounts around the country to do the same,” Wasson said. “From that point on it has really grown. It’s humbling to see the response.”

As of Wednesday, Oregon will be donating 70 boxes weighing over 2,000 pounds. Wasson attributes the huge support from student athletes and staff to the generosity of the community.

“I think that’s the culture here at

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the university,” Wasson said. “When we see people that need help, we step up.”

Although Hurricane Harvey made landfall over 2,000 miles away from Eugene, the storm’s immense impact hit close to home for a few Ducks.

Redshirt sophomore Sean Killpatrick grew up in Pearland, Texas—a city where the hurricane raised water levels up to front yards, flooded over 100 streets and instituted numerous flash flood warnings.

Killpatrick thinks the support from the equipment staff is an essential step in the recovery process facing Houston.

“I like it when universities take the time out to get community involvement to help folks out,” Killpatrick said. “It’s a great thing that Oregon is participating, along with other universities, to donate and reach out to Houston.”

Along with Killpatrick, senior Arrion Springs contributed clothes to Oregon’s Equipment Operations donations.

Springs, who comes from San Antonio, Texas, agreed that Oregon’s donation efforts are meaningful to the people of Houston.

“The city of Houston has given a lot to the country,” Springs said. “So, it’s good everyone is giving back as much as they can.”

After football season ends, both Killpatrick and Springs would like to return to their home state and help with the recovery process. The players firmly believe that Houston will recover over time.

“Houston has very strong individuals,” Killpatrick said. “They will come out and help one another and get things rolling. They’ll figure out what plans they need to solve the floods and get everyone to safety.”

“You know, Texas, we will bounce back faster and better than ever.”

Springs said.

GAMEDAY

CHARLES NELSON IS OREGON’S SWISS ARMY KNIFE BY: Aaron Alter @AaronAlter95 | PHOTO: Adam Eberhardt In his three years with the Oregon Ducks, Charles Nelson has been all over the field — literally. Previous to his role as a receiver, Nelson played safety in 2015, and has been one of the Ducks’ primary return men since his freshman season.

While his days of playing on the defensive side of the ball are behind him, Nelson enters 2017 as the Ducks’ starting punt returner. Looking at his stats, it’s not hard to see why. He’s amassed 2,173 yards and a pair of touchdowns on kick returns, and 302 yards and two more touchdowns on punts. He can run a 4.37 second 40-yard dash, and was one of NFL.com’s most versatile college players three years running. He’s a player that coaches love to have on a roster.

“With Charles, he’s used in all aspects,” special teams coach Raymond Woodie said. “It’s our job to get the ball in his hands. If the scheme is right,

we expect for him to make plays on special teams and offense too. It’s exciting to have a player like that.”

For his part, Nelson is ready to fill whatever role his team needs.

“It’s something I like to do,” Nelson said of his return duties. “But we’ll see how Coach Taggart wants it. I know he wants me to have some breaks on some special teams. Right now I’m in the one and two [special teams] rotations, so we’ll see how it goes.”

It’s a pretty selfless approach for a player who slots in as his team’s top receiving and return threat. It shows in his play as well. In the Ducks’ season opener against Southern Utah, Nelson showed that he’s not just looking to make highlights on his returns. He knew when to call for fair catches rather than risking a fumble or big hit.

Decisions like that may not jump off the stat

sheet like a touchdown, but they’re a crucial part of a strong return game.

As a senior with the potential to play professionally, it wouldn’t be shocking if Nelson devoted all of his attention to his own play. After all, playing with two units that your teammates and future career depend on is a lot to handle. Yet Nelson remains a team player. Amidst his duties, he always finds time to work with the Ducks’ young receivers.

“I just want to see them do great,” Nelson said.

“I still do the same things that I usually do, I’m just more focused on these guys and helping them do what they do.”

In the world of college football, there are very few certainties. Depth charts and positions can always shift. Oregon is no exception to this rule.

Just don’t be surprised to see Nelson streaking into the end zone off of a punt return. e No. 24 Oregon Ducks play the UC Davis Aggies for the season opener at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore. on Sept. 3, 2016.

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