Coming off an impressive 2015 campaign, Oregon junior running back Royce Freeman is set for another break-out season. He finds himself on countless preseason award watch lists – including the Heisman and Doak Walker – and his 3,201 yards rushing the last two years are the most by any player in a Power Five conference. He currently sits at fourth all-time in Oregon career rushing yards.
Freeman ran the ball just 11 times for 87 yards in Oregon’s season-opening win over UC Davis, but his workload will almost certainly increase as Oregon faces tougher competition. Despite the early-season accolades, Freeman isn’t listening to any of the hype surrounding him as the Ducks begin their 2016 campaign.
“It’s a great honor to be considered for a preseason candidate for the award,” Freeman said of his nomination for the Doak Walker award, given to the best running back in college football. “But I understand that there is a long haul ahead of me as far as the season goes. So to be considered for that is great, but I still know I have a lot of playing to do.”
Instead, Freeman is focused on helping the Ducks bounce back from a disappointing 2015 campaign that ended in a disastrous loss to TCU in the Alamo Bowl.
As soon as spring practices ended for the Ducks, Freeman was back already working on improving his game for the following season. He wanted to “get his body right” for the fall and spent hours watching film on himself, finding areas in his game to improve.
For a guy who netted a school record 1,836 rushing yards last year, it has got to be tough to find areas to improve on. But according to first-year offensive coordinator Matt Lubick, it’s his self-motivation that makes him such a talented player.
“The best thing about Royce is that he’s never satisfied, he always wants to get better and that’s what makes him so good,” Lubick said. “He’s very intrinsically motivated. When you tell him one little coaching point, for example carrying out a run fake, he takes that to heart.”
In spring and so far in fall, Freeman has had to step into a role that has been somewhat foreign to him over the past two seasons: being a leader. According to his coaches, Freeman isn’t the most vocal guy.
“His thing is just being a little more vocal and coming out of his shell a little bit more because he is a quiet beast,” Helfrich said.
Freeman’s way of leadership though, is more show than tell.
“We use him for so many teaching examples because he does it the right way,” Lubick said. “He’ll get on special teams and show us how to block a kick and we’ll show that to the rest of the team.”
In only two years in Eugene, Freeman has already cemented himself in Duck lore. This season, which could be his last as a Duck, he could set a number of Oregon offense season and career records. He’s 1,881 yards behind LaMichael James for the Oregon career record for rushing yards. He could be the greatest Duck running back of all time when it’s all said and done.
But not even that title draws even a little excitement from Freeman.
“You definitely just gotta tune it out,” Freeman said of the hype surrounding his pursuit of James’ record. “I feel like if I just work hard, it’ll pile up and we’ll see where we are at the end.”
Follow Gus Morris on Twitter @JustGusMorris