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Jordon Davison watched from the sidelines as the Oregon Ducks fell short in the Peach Bowl last season. The freshman phenom broke his collarbone in the Orange Bowl, and Oregon's depth at running back suffered against Indiana.
Now entering year two in Eugene, Davison finds himself in a unique situation. Despite only being a sophomore, Davison is the leader of Oregon's running back room, which saw plenty of changes in the offseason. Fellow sophomore Dierre Hill Jr. returns to form a dynamic backfield with Davison, but the room lost veterans Noah Whittington, Jayden Limar and Jay Harris.
Oregon added freshmen Brandon Smith and Tradarian Ball, as well as Colorado transfer Simeon Price, to give the room some seasoning. As the leading rusher in the room, Davison wants to follow in the footsteps of those who showed him the way, setting the new depth of the room straight as the Ducks enter fall camp.
“Being in their shoes last year, helping them get up to speed, giving them advice on things that helped me," Davison said at Oregon's media day. "Just trying to be a good role model, just like Noah (Whittington) was for me and all the older guys in the room. I’m just trying to pay it forward.”
Dan Lanning and running backs coach Ra'Shaad Samples have noted that Hill and Davison both leaned on their natural talent as freshmen, but the offseason has been all about growing and maturing in other areas, including leadership in the locker room. Hill has focused intensely on improving in pass protection, while Davison is exploring a more versatile role in different positions offensively.
“Obviously, they both had huge roles in our team, and now they have a lot of experience, too," Lanning said. "They played a lot on ability. Now they're getting the opportunity to play on what they know, using the intelligence they have, the year in the system, and now going into year two, we expect certainly really big things.”
Davison feels he has taken the next step as a sophomore. Armed with a better understanding of how the offense operates, Davison is only expecting more results in 2026.
“I just matured," Davison said. "I was going into (my freshman season) not knowing where everything was going to fall into place. Over the summer, I set goals and planned out everything, and everything’s falling into place. Just trying to follow the plan and keep my head down, keep working.”
When Hill and Davison arrived on campus last season, nobody could have expected them to command such a large role right away, not even Lanning. Davison paved a road map to success, rushing for 667 yards and a team-high 15 touchdowns, the second-most for an Oregon freshman tailback ever, trailing only Royce Freeman, who scored 18 times in 2014.
With fall camp beginning on Wednesday, Davison is excited to see the young depth compete for a spot on the field, just like he did a year ago. Even though Oregon's freshman class experienced plenty of success last season, Davison set the record straight. The team comes first, and there is a sense of unfinished business coming into the season.
“I wouldn’t say that we were satisfied because at the end of the day we weren’t the best team in the country," Davison said. "And that’s always the goal. It will always be the goal. I feel like we’re still working toward that and we have a chip on our shoulders.”
Contact/Follow @Ducks_Wire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oregon Ducks news, notes, and opinions.
This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Jordon Davison eyes ‘role model’ status in Oregon's new-look RB room
Continue reading...
Now entering year two in Eugene, Davison finds himself in a unique situation. Despite only being a sophomore, Davison is the leader of Oregon's running back room, which saw plenty of changes in the offseason. Fellow sophomore Dierre Hill Jr. returns to form a dynamic backfield with Davison, but the room lost veterans Noah Whittington, Jayden Limar and Jay Harris.
Oregon added freshmen Brandon Smith and Tradarian Ball, as well as Colorado transfer Simeon Price, to give the room some seasoning. As the leading rusher in the room, Davison wants to follow in the footsteps of those who showed him the way, setting the new depth of the room straight as the Ducks enter fall camp.
“Being in their shoes last year, helping them get up to speed, giving them advice on things that helped me," Davison said at Oregon's media day. "Just trying to be a good role model, just like Noah (Whittington) was for me and all the older guys in the room. I’m just trying to pay it forward.”
Dan Lanning and running backs coach Ra'Shaad Samples have noted that Hill and Davison both leaned on their natural talent as freshmen, but the offseason has been all about growing and maturing in other areas, including leadership in the locker room. Hill has focused intensely on improving in pass protection, while Davison is exploring a more versatile role in different positions offensively.
“Obviously, they both had huge roles in our team, and now they have a lot of experience, too," Lanning said. "They played a lot on ability. Now they're getting the opportunity to play on what they know, using the intelligence they have, the year in the system, and now going into year two, we expect certainly really big things.”
Davison feels he has taken the next step as a sophomore. Armed with a better understanding of how the offense operates, Davison is only expecting more results in 2026.
“I just matured," Davison said. "I was going into (my freshman season) not knowing where everything was going to fall into place. Over the summer, I set goals and planned out everything, and everything’s falling into place. Just trying to follow the plan and keep my head down, keep working.”
When Hill and Davison arrived on campus last season, nobody could have expected them to command such a large role right away, not even Lanning. Davison paved a road map to success, rushing for 667 yards and a team-high 15 touchdowns, the second-most for an Oregon freshman tailback ever, trailing only Royce Freeman, who scored 18 times in 2014.
With fall camp beginning on Wednesday, Davison is excited to see the young depth compete for a spot on the field, just like he did a year ago. Even though Oregon's freshman class experienced plenty of success last season, Davison set the record straight. The team comes first, and there is a sense of unfinished business coming into the season.
“I wouldn’t say that we were satisfied because at the end of the day we weren’t the best team in the country," Davison said. "And that’s always the goal. It will always be the goal. I feel like we’re still working toward that and we have a chip on our shoulders.”
Contact/Follow @Ducks_Wire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oregon Ducks news, notes, and opinions.
This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Jordon Davison eyes ‘role model’ status in Oregon's new-look RB room
Continue reading...
