'I Told You So': How an Alabama coach always knew Oregon’s Makhi Hughes was special
On Oregon's new RB and DB from Birmingham.
Bill Smith is a veteran of the sidelines. The former Alabama punter has coached high school football in his home state for the last 33 years. He’s put kids onto SEC rosters. He’s guided teams into the postseason. He likes to think he’s got a pretty good grasp of what works at his level and what works at the next level.
So yes, he gets a little flustered when talking about new Oregon running back Makhi Hughes.
“I’ve coached some good ones and the thing that frustrated me so much is — I’m sure you’ve seen his high school highlights — I mean, he was a definite D1 Power 5 running back,” Smith said. “And I couldn’t get anybody to offer him.”
Hughes, of course, is on a D1 Power 51 roster now. The former Tulane running back announced his transfer to Oregon earlier this month, giving the Ducks a natural progression from running back Jordan James, who rushed for more than 2,000 yards with 27 total touchdowns over the last two seasons. On paper it looks like a natural fit: Hughes, a redshirt junior, rushed for 2,779 yards and 30 touchdowns over the last two seasons, playing a large part in Tulane posting a 20-5 record over that period. The success in New Orleans turned Hughes into the No. 1 overall running back in this year’s transfer portal — a distinction that far exceeds his 3-star ranking coming out of high school where 247 Sports listed him as the No. 87 running back in the 2022 class.
But if you ask Smith, he’ll tell you there hasn’t been some special transformation with Hughes since he left Huffman High School in Birmingham. He’ll tell you that it’s just the rest of the country finally catching up to a player that Smith holds in as high regard as any player he’s ever been around.