All the raves are true. DSH saw Thomas “The Truth” Tyner in person last night, and the 6 foot, 207-pound Tyner turned in a dazzling performance with 381 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
Tyner broke tackles, ran hard inside, and blazed by the defense on the edges. He ran through a defense poised and pumped to stop him on their home field. He displayed toughness, courage and tenacity, and he oozes talent.
And Jim Radcliffe and Gary Campbell will make him even better.
Early in the third quarter Tyner’s Aloha Warriors were pinned on their own end on third and 22. Tyner took a pitch right on the stretch play, cut quickly into a crease, shed a pursuing linebacker and outraced the safeties for 74 yards and a touchdown. On his next carry on the Warriors ensuing possession, he took a quick hitter over right tackle, blasted through the hole and untouched into the open for a matching 73-yard score.
He was brilliant. He combines speed with power, vision and great balance. He’s perfect for Campbell’s “one cut and go” system, runs hard and rarely dances. He fights through tackles on the tough runs up the middle and has the frame to get even more powerful and stronger without losing his phenomenal burst.
Along with 5-star recruit Dontre Wilson of Texas, Tyner could become part of tremendous “thunder and lightning” backfield combination to rival Jonathan Stewart and Jeremiah Johnson a few years ago. Long after De’Anthony Thomas has set up shop in the NFL and bought his mother a big house in Bel Aire, the Oregon backfield could still be setting records and breaking them.
Tyner is talented, entertaining and determined. If Evan Voeller, Doug Brenner and a couple of other promising offensive linemen also join the fold, the future of Duck football could be as remarkable as the present.
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