Oregon Duck Dierre Hill Jr. burst onto the scene in his freshman year and is looking to take the next step in year two.
Oregon Ducks' rising sophomore Dierre Hill Jr. burst onto the scene in Eugene in his freshman season and is looking for more in year two.
Hill's season was a very unique one from a statistical standpoint. At no point was he ever a feature back for the Ducks, but every time he touched the football, he was liable to make a big play.
He had only one game in 2025 where he had double-digit carries. Every other game during the season, he never had more than seven carries. It didn't matter how many times or when he touched the rock, he was going to make every carry count.
Hill had six games this season where he averaged double-digit yards per carry, and his longest carry of the year actually came against the Indiana Hoosiers in the semifinals, where Oregon got it handed to them. He escaped for a 71-yard scamper that set up a score to cut Indiana's lead to 42-15.
© James Lang | 2025 Sep 27 The score is besides the point; what the point is is that Hill is going to be a feature back in this offense in 2026. What he showed in 2025 was a lot of promise, some room for improvement, but the ability to be successful at a high level.
Having that young yet dynamic talent is going to be critically important for the Oregon offense as they try to get back to where they were last year, but just make that final step.
The Ducks' offense has the potential to be loaded. Although they are going to lose their star tight end, Kenyon Sadiq, they bring back quarterback Dante Moore, and they get Evan Stewart back from injury on the outside.
In the backfield, Hill is going to replace the hole that senior Noah Wittington is going to leave. The Senior is taking 129 carries, 829 yards, and six touchdowns with him and out of the program.
Hill is going to form the combo punch to fellow freshman Jordan Davison, who got a few more chances than Hill but became the Ducks short yardage back. At 6'0 and 238 pounds, Davison is built like a sucker punch and has a punishing running style.
Together, the two are going to form a very formidable backfield for the Ducks. Hill will be the lightning to Davison's thunder as the Ducks look to make another deep playoff run in 2026.
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