Darron Thomas is fooling the Oregon defense, getting off long runs and beating them to the corner. He looks sharp in his zone reads, and this is the defense that sees him every day. Today Chris Courtney of educk.com tweeted, “Thomas with a great keeper running into the endzone for a touchdown vs. the defense.” It’s been one of the consistent themes of fall camp.
Thomas becoming even more deceptive and precise in the zone read is huge for the success of the Oregon offense. He was very competent last season, with 486 yards for a 5.32-yard average and 5 touchdowns, but if he refines and perfects this part of his game, look out.
It’s funny. People talk about getting Tra Carson into the lineup as the power back. Carson has a great future at 6-0 227 lbs., with a powerful lower body, thick legs to drive through and carry tacklers for tough yards, but even LaMichael James and Kenjon Barner redshirted, and a year of development may help The Baby Rhino to achieve his full potential. The true freshman broke LMJ’s school record at Liberty-Eylau high with 54 touchdowns for his career, falling just 35 yards short of LMJ’s rushing record, finishing with 4,185 yards. He’s shown some power in fall workouts, and the temptation is great to use him as a change of pace, a strategy running backs coach Gary Campbell likes a lot, the “Thunder and Lightning” combination he had with Jeremiah Johnson and LeGarrette Blount in ’08, or Johnson and Jonathan Stewart in ’07. But how many carries and how much value can Carson add behind James, Barner, De’Anthony Thomas and Seastrunk in 2011? Would it be worth sacrificing a year of his eligibility for a very limited role?
Yet in an unconventional way, Darron Thomas can be the power back. No, he’s not big and thick like Blount, or even powerful and stubby like Jeremiah Masoli, but when the Ducks need 1-3 yards, Thomas can get it for them with solid reads, athletic ability, and his lanky 6-3 body. Defenses have to commit so hard to defending LaMichael James, that the keep-and-find-a-seam will be open for Thomas a lot. He can step, dart, slide and dive for three yards and more quite often without taking a lot of punishment, while punishing the defense for overcommitting to his tailback. Darron Thomas is the semi-secret weapon in the Oregon running game; Tra Carson can have a season to mature and acclimate to college football and college life.
Still another part of this is, Oregon already has a legitimate power back. It’s LaMichael James. James runs as tough between the tackles as any back East of Marcus Lattimore. As he said this week, he’s short, not little. James bulked up to 195 in offseason workouts this year without a loss of speed. He’s plenty tough running inside, and PAC-12 defenders have the bruises to prove it. Ask USC or Stanford how powerful LaMichael James is running up the middle. Then’s there’s the added bonus: with the defense massed to stop him in short yardage, James gets by the pile or around it, and he can bust it for 60. He’s the best combination of inside dependability and escapability in college football, hard to find, impossible to catch, and tough to tackle. Watch video highlights of James at work, and notice how many times he delivers the blow to the defender. That’s the definition of a power back, even if he has a scatback’s speed and size. On third and two, James can out-Blount Blount and outrace T.J. McDonald. After two seasons he’s just 20 yards shy of Derek Loville’s Oregon career rushing record, a mark he may shatter forever in three full seasons.
One of the big reasons people point to the need for a Thunder back in the Oregon rotation is last year’s National Championship Game. Down 19-11 with under six minutes to go in the third quarter, the Ducks got some momentum when Lavasier Tuinei made a brilliant, juggling 43-yard catch, just getting tripped up at the Auburn three yard line, first and goal Oregon with a chance to tie. From there, with LaMichael James getting treatment, the Ducks took four cracks at the end zone and couldn’t score, Kenjon Barner getting stuffed on 4th and 1 when Coach Kelly passed on a field goal. Folks think, if only we had the big horse to give the ball to there. Blount or Carson would make the difference in situations like that.
Fishduck does a better job of breaking down plays than I ever could, but three things stand out on this play. One, the offensive line fails to hold and execute its blocks. Two, the Auburn defensive line does a great job of penetrating and disrupting the play. Third and most importantly, Oregon doesn’t need a power back on this play– they need the speed back Barner to trust his speed and run to the pylon: he scores if he runs hard outside.
This year, however, the Ducks have a lot of difference-makers in that situation. Both James and Barner are stronger than a year ago. Steve Greatwood is working on honing his offensive line, and they’re bigger than last year. Darron Thomas continues to work hard on refining his reads rather than predetermining them. He’ll be a crucial split-second better in that area. Lastly, the Duck coaches will have increased confidence in putting the game in DT’s hands in the red zone, and he has three tall, sure-handed targets in 6-5 Lavasier Tuinei, 6-4 David Paulson, and 6-5 Colt Lyerla, who has a 40-inch vertical leap. Two of the other newcomer receivers, Rahsaan Vaughn and Tacoi Sumler, are also great leapers with excellent timing, and Moseley observed just today how reserve receiver Eric Dungy, at 6-1, reminds him of Cristin McLemore in his ability to beat defenders to the ball and come down with it on the leaping catch. That’s high praise. McLemore was one of Oregon’s best ever, and an utter joy to watch.
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