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Noah Whittington: 'You only live once. Why would I not come?'

Originally posted on FanNation Ducks Digest
By Dylan Reubenking | Last updated 4/15/22

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It's a brand new running back room in Eugene. Over the past four seasons, CJ Verdell and Travis Dye have combined for 58.7% of Oregon's rush attempts, and only 17.5% of rushing yardage returns from the 2021 season.

It's a perfect opportunity for a handful of new(er) faces to announce themselves as the next great Oregon backfield. One of those guys, whose arrival to the program was very quiet, is Western Kentucky transfer Noah Whittington.

Whittington spent two years in Bowling Green as a Hilltopper, including last season with new Oregon Running Backs Coach Carlos Locklyn. It may seem like a fair assumption that Whittington and his position coach would have lengthy discussions about becoming a package deal for the Ducks, but it didn't work out quite that way.

"The crazy thing was he didn't really talk to me about coming to Oregon," Whittington said. "He really dealt with my trainer. So my trainer was mentioning it to me, but I didn't really take him seriously. I was still practicing at Western, but it got to the point where it actually got serious."

Oregon RB Noah Whittington Spring Practice

Whittington, who led WKU in rushing yards with 617 last season in an Air-Raid offense, elected to enter the transfer portal in early March. He clearly had a firm spot in the Hilltoppers' offense, but with Locklyn's hire at Oregon presenting Whittington with the opportunity to become a Duck, it was a no-brainer for him.

"[My trainer] was like, 'they want you to come,' and I was like 'okay!' You only live once, and it's Oregon. Why would I not come? I don't care what nobody say. It's the University of Oregon. If anybody had the opportunity, they would have taken it too."

And thus Whittington was reunited with Locklyn at Oregon, joining a running back room consisting of Byron Cardwell and Sean Dollars. The room only had 76 career carries to its name (90 if you count Seven McGee), so Whittington was definitely going to be the most experienced back on the roster.

But that doesn't equate to being handed the coveted RB1 job, especially with a coach like Locklyn who prides himself as a coach with a "walk-on mentality."

"Everybody in the room gets coached the same," Whittington said of Locklyn's approach. "If you're a walk-on or a scholarship player, we all get coached the same."

Oregon RB Noah Whittington Spring Practice

Competition in the running back room is at its highest in quite some time for the Ducks, chiefly due to two of the top five leading rushers in program history moving on this offseason. The Oregon coaches have been impressed with everyone in the group, but both Locklyn and Dan Lanning have commended Whittington's effort on the field.

"He takes on the same mindset I have; he comes to work and works hard," Locklyn said of Whittington in spring practice. "He wants to be great."

"Noah's a worker," Lanning added. "Very explosive, runs really hard, plays with a different type of effort."

Oregon RB Coach Carlos Locklyn Spring Practice

Oregon Head Coach Dan Lanning Spring Practice

Cardwell and Dollars have also impressed the coaches in spring, which compels Whittington to raise his game even higher.

"When you make a mistake, it's like dang, they're making plays so I gotta make plays. You're never satisfied. You make a good play, flip the page, have a bad play flip the page because here we have a growth mindset."

Whittington has only been in Eugene for a month, but he's adapted to life as a Duck very quickly. Learning the playbook was a walk in the park for him, and building chemistry with a running back room already locked in on spring ball was smooth.

"It feels like a family," Whittington said. "Everybody's here to compete. What happens on the field stays on the field, and that's what I love about this group."

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