Jordon Davison enters Oregon’s fall camp in a very different spot than the one he occupied a year ago.
Last season, the freshman was watching from the sideline when the Ducks came up short in the Peach Bowl, and his own year had already been interrupted when he broke his collarbone in the Orange Bowl. Oregon also felt the impact of its running back depth in the loss to Indiana. Now, with a new group around him, Davison is no longer just one piece in the room - he’s the one helping set the tone.
That’s the reality for a sophomore who still feels early in his college career. Davison and fellow sophomore Dierre Hill Jr. give Oregon a returning dynamic backfield, but the group around them has changed plenty. Veterans Noah Whittington, Jayden Limar and Jay Harris are gone, while freshmen Brandon Smith and Tradarian Ball, along with Colorado transfer Simeon Price, have been brought in to add depth and experience.
Davison says he’s trying to pass along what he picked up from the older players who helped him settle in.
“Being in their shoes last year, helping them get up to speed, giving them advice on things that helped me," Davison said at Oregon's media day. "Just trying to be a good role model, just like Noah (Whittington) was for me and all the older guys in the room. I’m just trying to pay it forward.”
Oregon coach Dan Lanning and running backs coach Ra'Shaad Samples have pointed to the same theme with Davison and Hill: both leaned heavily on raw talent as freshmen, and now the focus has shifted to the less flashy parts of the job. Leadership has become part of the assignment. Hill has zeroed in on pass protection, while Davison is working toward a more versatile offensive role.
“Obviously, they both had huge roles in our team, and now they have a lot of experience, too," Lanning said. "They played a lot on ability. Now they're getting the opportunity to play on what they know, using the intelligence they have, the year in the system, and now going into year two, we expect certainly really big things.”
For Davison, that next step starts with feeling more settled in the offense and more confident about where everything fits. He said the offseason brought a clearer plan, and he believes the results are starting to show.
“I just matured," Davison said. "I was going into (my freshman season) not knowing where everything was going to fall into place.
Over the summer, I set goals and planned out everything, and everything’s falling into place. Just trying to follow the plan and keep my head down, keep working.”
The numbers from last season already tell the story of how quickly Davison became central to Oregon’s offense. He ran for 667 yards and a team-high 15 touchdowns, which was the second-most for an Oregon freshman tailback ever, behind only Royce Freeman’s 18 in 2014.
With fall camp starting Wednesday, Davison is also looking forward to seeing the younger backs compete for snaps the way he did last year. And even with the success Oregon’s freshman class had, he made it clear the group isn’t treating that as the finish line.
“I wouldn’t say that we were satisfied because at the end of the day we weren’t the best team in the country," Davison said. "And that’s always the goal.
It will always be the goal. I feel like we’re still working toward that and we have a chip on our shoulders.”
In Other News...
Dan Lanning Just Got Another Chance In A Huge Oregon Recruiting Fight
Oregon is already looking well ahead in the 2028 recruiting cycle, and one of the biggest names on its board is Kameron McGee. The highly ranked edge rusher from Illinois has already spent time on campus in Eugene, giving Dan Lanning and his staff an early chance to sell the Ducks on what they can offer and where he might fit in the defensive pipeline.
McGees recruitment is far from a one-school conversation, though, and Oregon knows it will have to keep working if it wants to stay in the mix. The Ducks are expected to get another crack at him during the 2026 season, and the next round of visits will go a long way toward showing how serious he is about Eugene compared with the other national powers in the hunt. [Read more 🡒]
Jalen Lott Is Already Pushing For A Real Oregon Role
Fall camp has offered a clear picture of just how crowded Oregons wide receiver room already is, with experienced veterans working alongside a freshman class that has brought real buzz. Among the newcomers, five-star Jalen Lott has turned heads since enrolling in the summer, showing enough skill and adaptability to draw notice from the coaching staff as he works through the playbook and into the mix.
Offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer has made it plain that nothing is being handed out in this group, and that message matters for a receiver room where every rep can shape the depth chart. For Lott, the early praise is encouraging, but the real test is still ahead: proving he can translate those flashes into a role when Oregon starts sorting out who truly belongs on the field. [Read more 🡒]
Oregons New Play Caller Faces His First Real Test In Camp
Drew Mehringers first fall camp as Oregons offensive coordinator has come with the usual summer pressure, plus the added reality of stepping into a bigger organizing role after Dan Lanning promoted him following Will Steins departure. Lanning also elevated Chris Hampton to defensive coordinator after Tosh Lupoi left, and both coaches are now navigating new responsibilities as the Ducks get ready for the upcoming season. The head coach has already singled out how smoothly the two have handled the transition, which matters for a program trying to keep its footing while its staff changes around it.
Mehringer has talked about the adjustment and the support around him, and that kind of change can be felt most in camp, where every rep and meeting has a little more weight attached to it. Oregon does not need this to be a learning year, but it is one in which the Ducks are asking new voices to carry major pieces of the operation, and the early signs suggest the staff has settled in quickly. The real question is how that comfort holds once the work gets more demanding and the season starts to put those new roles under a brighter light. [Read more 🡒]