Oregon Football: CJ Verdell is nation’s most underrated RB

CJ Verdell picked up right where he left off pre-injury days on Saturday afternoon in Eugene. The Ducks had an open practice and scrimmage in which fans were allowed to attend and Verdell was the star of the show as the offense was electric.

On the first play from scrimmage, Verdell took a handoff to the house, getting all 1,500 fans in attendance on their feet.

Even with a limited number of scholarship backs available this spring (just Verdell and Travis Dye), the Ducks’ backfield was surprisingly productive in the first look for fans. Walk-on Cross Patton, too, was a pleasant surprise, but the strong showing from Verdell just goes to show just how much he’s overlooked nationally.

According to a 247Sports recap from the spring game by Erik Skopil, Verdell is highly regarded inside the program and the praise for him is lofty.

"“Like I’ve said 1,000 times, I believe CJ Verdell is the best back in the country,” said running backs coach Jim Mastro following Saturday’s scrimmage. “We’ve got to keep him healthy. Last year, that was the freakiest injury you could imagine. He tore a ligament in his thumb by putting his hand on the ground.“CJ is as dynamic as they come. He is the complete package. If he stays healthy, which he will, the sky is the limit for him and Travis, and right now Cross [Patton].”"

But this praise seems to only be local because after he rushed for over 1,000 yards as a freshman and sophomore, an injury muddied his junior season as he had just 285 yards and three touchdowns on 4.4 yards per touch. The national media seemed to immediately forget he existed because of an injury-ridden, COVID-19-shortened season.

And that’s going to prove to be a big mistake.

Proof that the Oregon football star is underrated

When you look at the lists of the top running backs in the nation ahead of the 2021 season, very few of them include Verdell.

In fact, Bleacher Report has a top-10 list and even some honorable mentions but none of them are Verdell. Pro Football Focus, too, released a list of the top-10 returning running backs for the 2021 season, and — you guessed it — there’s no Verdell mention to be found.

How is a two-time 1,000-yard rusher overlooked this much? How did it take just five games in 2020 to just eliminate him from every top running backs list for 2021?

Verdell is arguably the best running back in the Pac-12 ahead of the 2021 season and there may not be five guys I’d take to lead a backfield over him.

I guess Verdell is going to prove everyone wrong this season with another 1,000-yard campaign. Or, if he has it his way, a 2,000-yard season.