Oregon officially announced its hire of former USF assistant Donte Pimpleton as Ducks running back coach on Wednesday night.
Oregon RB coach Donte Pimpleton (GoDucks.com)
Fox Sports’ Bruce Feldman first broke the news on Dec. 30. Pimpleton is the third official member of first-year Oregon coach Willie Taggart’s staff, joining defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt and wide receivers coach Jimmie Dougherty.
Pimpleton spent his last two years as USF’s running backs coach under Taggart. In addition to USF, Pimpleton has had stops at Western Kentucky, Kentucky Wesleyan, Louisville and Delaware during his coaching career.
With the Bulls, Pimpleton tutored and developed a core of talented running backs. The group as a whole ranked No. 2 nationally with 6.51 average yards a carry. His group of rushers also ranked fifth in total rushing at 285.3 yards a game. He worked to develop USF star Marlon Mack into a record-setting rusher.
Pimpleton also worked alongside Oregon’s coach at Western Kentucky.
Pimpleton will replace longtime Oregon running backs coach Gary Campbell, who served as an assistant at Oregon since 1983.
Pimpleton inherits plenty of talent in the backfield. Royce Freeman said last month he will return to Oregon for his senior season. The Ducks will also have Tony Brooks-James and Taj Griffin, along with Kani Benoit.
He’s a native of Louisville, Kentucky. He played quarterback in high school.
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