LeGarrette Blount certainly wasn’t flying below the radar on his way to becoming a Duck.
Blount (pronounced ‘blunt’), a Florida native, was rated the top junior college running back in the country by Rivals.com after rushing for more than 1,000 yards in each of his two seasons at East Mississippi Community College.
But no dot-com recruiting ranking or hype could prepare Oregon players and coaches for the bruising style of runner that has shown up for the first week of spring practice.
“I believe they probably expected it, me being so big and all,” Blount said. “I don’t do too much juking. I’m going to try to either run through you or run past you, but if I get past you you’re not catching me.”
Blount rushed for a 47-yard touchdown in last weeks scrimmage, the only score the offense could muster. In practices, he routinely flattens defenders and breaks free for scores in the team’s 11-on-11 drills.
If Oregon was looking for a downhill runner to go with the nimble Jeremiah Johnson this season, they appear to have found one.
“He possesses a combination of speed and power that’s hard to come by,” coach Mike Bellotti said. “I’m excited. I think he’s going to be a positive addition to that running back crew.”
Last week after the first day of practice, Bellotti praised Blount’s ability to pick up the offense quickly. That has continued over the course of the week, and coaches are pleased with his progress.
“He continues to demonstrate some things and keep up with what’s going on,” Bellotti said. “That’s the hard thing because we don’t stop putting new stuff in.”
The biggest challenge for Blount to this point has been adjusting to the speed of the action. He said that junior college football was not much faster than high school for him.
“This transition for me has been like going from high school straight to Division I,” he said.
Blount was offered by several Southeastern Conference schools coming out of high school, but his ACT scores weren’t high enough to qualify for a Division I school. He signed with Auburn and went to junior college to get his academics in order. Then Auburn signed three more running backs, leaving Blount free to explore possibilities. He received offers from Florida State, Alabama, West Virginia and others but settled on Oregon for its spread offense, which he ran in high school and junior college, the facilities, a big upgrade from East Mississippi, and the uniforms.
“I love them. I think they’re probably the best in the country,” he said of the uniforms. “I like the black best. The black and green.”
An added bonus for Blount has been his quick friendship with his teammates in the backfield.
“They’re awesome,” he said. “They’re like mentors to me. They take care of me.”
And while Blount has made a big splash in spring practice, his goals for the near future remain humble.
“My first goal is to keep my grades up so I’ll be able to play,” he said. “My second goal is to get as much playing time as possible.”
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