Da'Jaun Riggs spent much of the 2025 season on the wrong side of the sideline, and now the Oregon running back is trying to turn that lost time into fuel.
The redshirt sophomore appeared in five games last season before injuries eventually ended his year. As fall camp opens ahead of 2026, Riggs is back in the mix for snaps in a crowded Ducks backfield that also includes Jordon Davison and Dierre Hill Jr., both of whom made noise as true freshmen.
Riggs said the injury problems started late in his freshman year with groin issues that became serious enough to keep him from running at full speed. After he got past that, a foot injury in practice sent him into a boot and finished his season.
"I wanna say my late freshman year I started dealing with groin issues. Turned to be something real bad to where I couldn't run full speed, and then finally got back from that.
Then I hurt my foot in practice. I happened to be in a boot, and it took me out for the rest of the season," said Riggs.
Being forced to watch from the sideline changed the way he sees the game and his place in it.
"It bothered me a lot, because I know how talented I was. Due to injuries, having to sit on the side, it gave me a different perspective.
How I just need to work, 'cause any day this game can be taken away from me. So when I got injured, I was just telling myself when I get back I was gonna work as hard as I could," Riggs continued.
He also said a conversation with Noah Whittington before camp helped sharpen that mindset. Riggs said Whittington, who is at Texans camp right now, told him to keep the focus narrow and let the work speak.
"Before fall camp, I actually called Noah (Whittington). Talking about his camp at Texans right now, we were talking about it, and he was just telling me, 'You just gotta focus on yourself.
You just gotta work hard every day.' One thing about Oregon football, they see everything.
No matter from stretching to team run to special teams. So if you just go out there, compete with yourself, work hard, love your brothers, they're gonna see it.
Really, he just told me to keep my head up and keep working. They see talent and they gonna put the best players on the field for sure."
Riggs knows the competition in the room is real, but he doesn’t sound rattled by it. He said he enjoys going against the other backs every day and is willing to fill whatever role Oregon asks of him.
"Them guys are great guys. I love competing against them every day.
They push me, I push them. We love each other to death.
But I'm just trying to get in where I can fin in. I'm gonna work hard as I can from wherever they need me, that's where I'm gonna be at.
I ain't really worried about nothing else, just focusing on myself, just doing what I'm supposed to do this month, and whatever happens in September is what happens in September."
That competition, in Riggs’ view, is part of what makes the group dangerous. He pointed to the different ways Oregon can deploy its backs and the number of personnel looks the Ducks can use.
"Got a lot of versatile guys doing a lot of different personnels to where there's multiple backs on the field. I think that's very special, and like I said, this room's very competitive.
That's what stands out about us. We're very violent, and we love to compete a lot."
Riggs also said his offseason focus has centered on becoming more physical. He already has the ability to make defenders miss, but he wants the next layer of his game to show up in tougher, more efficient runs and in pass protection.
"Really I've been more focused on the physical part of my game. I'm very good at making people miss, but I wanted to advance my game more and being more physical, which means blocking.
Instead of trying to juke a guy, if I can't, just dip my shoulder and get the five, four yards that's there. Don't try to get the 20."
He also singled out Simeon for bringing a veteran voice to the room, saying the experience and stories have already helped the backs learn.
"Simeon brings a lot of experience, coming from different places. He gives a lot of stories, a lot of histories.
He teaches us things that we didn't know at first. Like the other day, we were going over fronts, and he was explaining how he went against the first defense, it was a 3-4 or something.
And he just explained it to us, and it was just funny, and we just called him 'unc' after that."
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