Oregon running back Noah Whittington announces he will return for 2024 season
Even with star running back Bucky Irving headed for the NFL Draft, Oregon’s backfield is going to feature no shortage of talent in 2024.
On Friday, standout junior Noah Whittington announced that he plans to return to Eugene next season.
Whittington got off to a tremendous start in 2023 but suffered a season-ending knee injury during Oregon’s Week 4 win over Colorado.
In four games this season, Whittington rushed for 146 net yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries and averaged 7.3 yards per carry.
A former Western Kentucky standout who transferred to UO ahead of the 2022 season, Whittington made an immediate impact during his first season in Eugene. In 12 games, he ran for 617 yards and two touchdowns on 101 carries.
When he was healthy this fall, Whittington served as the Ducks’ No. 2 backfield option behind Irving.
Next season, he will lead a running back room that features standout sophomore Jordan James, four-star freshman Jayden Limar, JUCO transfer Jay Harris, and 2024 signee Da’Jaun Riggs.
More on Oregon’s transfer portal outlook
Few programs in all of college football experienced a greater amount of transfer portal activity than Oregon did during the 2023 cycle.
A total of 30 Oregon scholarship players entered the portal during the previous two transfer windows — 21 in the winter and nine in the spring. Meanwhile, the Ducks added 14 scholarship players during that same period.
Many of their portal additions — including receiver Tez Johnson, cornerback Khyree Jackson, safety Evan Williams, and right tackle Ajani Cornelius — locked down starting jobs and played key roles during the 2023 season.
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This offseason, Oregon will once again look for opportunities to improve its roster by way of the portal.
During the month of December, the Ducks made several significant portal additions — including that of former Oklahoma star quarterback Dillon Gabriel.
Track transfer portal activity
While the NCAA transfer portal database is private, the On3 Network has streamlined the reporting process tracking player movement.
If you find yourself asking, ‘How can I track transfer portal activity?’ our well-established network of reporters and contacts across college athletics keeps you up to speed in several ways, from articles written about players as they enter and exit the transfer portal or find their new destination, to our social media channels, to the On3 Transfer Portal.
The transfer portal wire provides a real-time feed of player activity, including basic player profile information, transfer portal ranking and original On3 Industry recruiting ranking, as well as NIL valuation (name, image and likeness).
The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.
