The fantastic, phenomenal beginning of the Duck running back Dierre Hill

Bucky. KB. LaMichael. DAT. J-Stew. Rolls Royce. Rueben. Onterrio. Saladin. The Great Bobby Moore. The Great Mel Renfro.

Oregon running backs come in different sizes, shapes and styles, but it's a marvelous tradition. This last one came suddenly and unexpectedly, like one of his bursts off the bench, into the lineup, through the line of scrimmage and gone.

In Week Five of his freshman season, Dierre Hill of Althoff Catholic in Belleville, Illinois (he's from nearby Centralia) led all first-year running backs in the nation with a PFF grade of 86.6.

As the Ducks' season reaches the bye week he leads the team with 26 carries for 270 yards, 10.4 a carry. Anything over five is pretty good. Anything over six is exceptional. An average of 10.4, generational, though it's still a small sample size.

Hill is smoke-through-a-keyhole fast, and he's just starting to show how effective and explosive he can be. In 26 carries he's posted nine runs of over 10 yards, four of over 20 yards, including a 66-yard touchdown at Northwestern, a road game in his home state.

Hill destroys angles, has great pace, vision and timing and at 5-11, 205, he's a nice blend of power and speed.

Duck fans should have been warned. Hill led Althoff to the Illinois 1A State Championship last November, going for 518 yards and seven touchdowns in a 57-14 win over Lena-Winslow, clocked at 21.4 mph on the GPS. In fall camp, Max Torres and Justin Hopkins of Duck Territory were already banging the drum that this kid could be special.

It's still crazy how quickly he's emerged as Oregon's best back. In preseason the talk was all about Tulane transfer Makhi Hughes stepping in to replace Jordan James the way James had replaced Bucky Irving. After all, Hughes had rushed for 2,779 yards in two seasons, 1,982 after contact.

On signing day, Dan Lanning said, "The amount of positions that Dierre plays is something else that really sticks out to us. His position versatility and everything that he does for his team. He's just the kind of guy that you can win with."

He showed off that position versatility in the Penn State game, lining up at wide receiver and taking a tunnel screen for an eight-yard touchdown in the third quarter that gave the Ducks a 10-3 lead, his third score as a Duck in 28 touches.

At Althoff Hill was a state champion in the 100 and 200 meters and the leading scorer as a shooting guard for the basketball team, a top time of 11.04 in the 100.

Will Stein keeps finding creative ways to get him the ball in space, and as Torres points out, the offensive unit has blocked beautifully for him. He uses and sets up blocks well, has a great feel for where the daylight is.

Already Ra'Shaad Samples is proving to be a Gary Campbell-level developer of running backs. During fall camp Dan Lanning said about the running back room, "It's really deep, really deep. Coach Samples does a phenomenal job of distribution of carries, especially in practice, which is always hard, and those guys have responded, and they're a great unit, really great unit, and excited about what they're going to bring."

In the Ducks' 5-0 start they've carved out unique roles for Hill, fellow freshman Jordon Davison, Jayden Limar, Noah Whittington, Jay Harris and Dink Riggs. Davison has powered for seven touchdowns as the team's goal line back.

The only thing holding Hill back is his understanding of pass blocking and blitz pickup, something that will come with time and film study. The coaching staff remains dedicated to a strength-in-numbers philosophy, mindful that it takes 15 or 16 games to win a national championship.

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