Oregon Ducks Freshman Running Back Dierre Hill's 'Superpower' Speed: Spring Football

Hilled rushed for over 5,000 yards and tallied 99 total touchdowns during high school career, earning MaxPreps Illinois High School Football Player of the Year.

Whittington continued to evaluate the quick-twitch Hill and fellow 4-star recruit, true freshman Jordon Davison - saying the two could be a “thunder and lightning duo” for the Oregon backfield in the future.

The "thunder" Davison is 6-foot and 216 pounds while the "lightening" Hill is 5-foot-11 and 180-pounds.

“Jordon is like a force to be reckoned with. He’s a downhill runner, he’s a little heavy, but he’s not slow,” Whittington said about Davison. “With that much mass and speed, that creates a lot of power. He’s going to cause a lot of problems.”

Davison ranked as the top running back out of California by 247Sports and the No. 16 back nationally. As lead running back at Mater Dei High School, Davison totaled 3,499 all-purpose yards and 46 touchdowns, including 14 career games with over 100 rushing yards.

Oregon coach Dan Lanning's running back room has incredible depth. Redshirt senior Whittington leads the way in his sixth college season, feeling the best he ever has. Whittington suffered a torn ACL early in the 2023 season and his rehab has paid off.

“I feel like I’m the most confident I have ever been in it now. It was a pretty big injury. Now I feel 100% healthy,” Whittington said. “Being able to just have fun and play and not really think about it...(I want to) attack my last year. Because that’s what is is."

The Ducks also added Tulane transfer Makhi Hughes. 

"I think he brings a sense of violence," Whittington said. "There's a lot of people in our room where it's the same thing. Basically him in Memphis drills pass protecting, he doesn't take contact, he enforces it. It's the same thing within his running style. He a big body. He's fast. I don't think anybody is really gonna want to tackle him." 

Last season at Tulane, Hughes finished with 265 rush attempts for 1,401 yards and 15 touchdowns along with 19 catches for 176 yards and two more scores. Hughes and Whittington could be the top running back duo in college football next season.

In his three seasons at Oregon, Whittington shared the backfield with now Tampa Bay running backBucky Irving and 2025 NFL Draft prospect Jordan James. Whittington was a nice complement to each of them and totaled 1,465 rushing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns in three seasons.