Travis Dye shocked everyone when he hit the transfer portal a couple of weeks ago. Everyone assumed his decision would come down to staying for one final season or entering the NFL draft, but he decided to pull off a surprise move, and now he’s the third-best uncommitted transfer.
Dye is gone and so is Trey Benson who came in as a four-star freshman in 2021 so that leaves Oregon with Byron Cardwell and a couple of guys who missed most of the season with injuries: CJ Verdell and Sean Dollars. Verdell could still decide to go pro and Dollars entered the portal before pulling his name right back out.
So to say that Oregon needs someone to step up in the backfield would be an understatement. I think Cardwell will be that guy and if Verdell isn’t fully healthy or if he goes pro, he’ll be the Ducks’ next 1,000-yard rusher.
As a freshman, Cardwell was solid, rushing for 417 yards and three touchdowns on 6.8 yards per touch. While you might say that could be considered a “breakout”, I don’t think it’s going to compare to what we will see from him in 2022.
Cardwell is going to be a star in the backfield next season.