The time is now for the Oregon Ducks' Jordan James
In a world going away from the Bell Cow, the Oregon junior wants to be an every-down back.
Kevin Creasy doesn’t have time to watch the Oregon Ducks play live, so he DVRs games for when he finds a few spare moments.
There are, naturally, instances in which the Oakland High School (Tennessee) head football coach won’t get around to watching though, especially when his Patriots have a big-time opponent on the horizon. It’s in those scenarios when he’ll double or triple up his viewings in a week, a feat he assures is possible with the ability to fast-forward through commercials. The hours add up all the same.
Creasy justifies it by calling it “professional development,” although he really doesn’t have to. Sure, he enjoys what the Ducks do schematically and isn’t afraid to steal some ideas, but that is not why he is there in the first place. He watches because of Oregon’s budding star in the backfield, one Jordan James.
“There are a few things that I see on Saturdays that look like they came right off his highlight film,” said Creasy.
And few would know better than Creasy, who coached James for two seasons at Oakland and saw nothing but those highlights. James transferred in as a junior and tore apart the Tennessee preps scene, accounting for 3,858 all-purpose yards and 52 touchdowns en route to back-to-back undefeated seasons and class 6A state championships.
The 4-star running back committed to the SEC’s elite in Georgia and then decommitted all before eventually picking the Ducks and flying out West to Eugene — a place Creasy knows only from the glimpses he sees on his television every so often and the details that James relays to him during their check-ins roughly once a month.
“The crazy part is,” said Creasy, “I called him in the middle of the night the other night and, of course, he’s a few hours behind. The dude answered the phone and he had just gotten out of camp, so I was like, man, I must be pretty important to him still if he's answering right after camp, because I would be worn out and I wouldn't pick up my phone calls from anybody.”
The thing is though, for as eager as the voice on the other end of Creasy’s call was to simply catch up, there’s a bit of an ulterior motive for James: He’s working on getting his former coach out to a game in Autzen this season.
James knows how to pick his spots. There’s no better time for Creasy to get off the couch and see his star pupil play in person.
If it is possible to be the forgotten man in an offense that is widely considered no worse than top five in the nation, James somehow — if only due to the riches which surround him — fits the bill.