It’s been a while since Oregon Ducks junior Noah Whittington ran a route for Oregon Football in full pads. His comments on returning to contact play for fall camp may make you feel like he has a screw loose.
“It feels great,” Whittington said. “It feels like everything I’ve been missing. You know, I’m just excited. It feels good to get tackled. I don’t even know how to explain it after not getting hit for a long time. It’s kind of like nervous the first time about to get hit after, it’s kind of like, feel like I never left.”
The running back has been heavily involved with the Ducks on the field since entering as a sophomore transfer from Western Kentucky. He played in all thirteen games his first season and came in second on the team that year for rushing yards with 779. Whittington also racked up 139 carries and five rushing touchdowns on said yard.
However, Whittington tore his ACL in Oregon’s contest versus Colorado, cutting his junior season short during only the fourth game of the 2023 campaign. Whittington utilized a redshirt after this injury.
Advertisement
It stands to reason Whittington might have been apprehensive to have his body hit the turf again.
“Yeah, I was kind of mentally like, ‘uhhhhh,’ but after I got tackled the first time, I was able, you know, actually hit the whole lot harder. So now it’s just like, it’s really no hesitation,” Whittington said.
Whittington confirms that he is at one hundred percent for fall camp, after Oregon coach Dan Lanning told the press before spring practices that Whittington was quickly progressing in his physical therapy treatments.
“My goals?” Whittington said. “It was kind of just, you know, to be back out there and be able to actually practice, and I feel like, Yeah, I’m doing a pretty decent job.”
With a fully-stacked running back room, Whittington has a challenge ahead of him to compete for that starting job. Whittington admits that the coaches are also putting on the pressure to perform.
Advertisement
“How we attack adversity. You know, our coach really been challenging us a lot, you know, to stack good days, and when we don’t have them, he can really, like, rip into us. So it’s just like being able to overcome that and actually accept his challenges and come out the next day. I feel like mentally, we’ve done a great job at doing that,” Whittington said.
Under first-year Oregon Football assistant head coach and running backs coach Ra’Shaad Samples, there’s a balance of tough love.
“I mean, it’s been how it should be, you know, like we have times where it’s laid back, it’s chill, you know, we get to connect and know him on a personal level. Then when we’re not upholding the standard of the room. He let us feel it,” Whittington said.
Whittington wants a slice of kick-off action as well in the fall.
“I would love to, but it’s not up to me,” Whittington said. “It’s up to coach, Joe Lorig, and he gon’ tell me. He might say something about, like, how I’ve catched the ball, but, I mean, I’ve been trying to catch it how he want me to catch it. So he’ll put me back there.”
Advertisement
And though kick returns have been an issue for the Ducks in the past, Whittington is ready for a revenge tour that includes aiding the special teams.
“Yes, it’s a big emphasis on that in the special teams meeting. And I feel like we gonna get the job done this year. We might get a goal, I say, like five, five or four. Oh, for real. We really been getting, like, detailing it like it’s been on the front end of like, what we need to get better at,” Whittington said.
MORE: Oregon Ducks Five-Star Commit Trey McNutt To Visit Ohio State Buckeyes?
MORE: Quarterback Justin Herbert Injury Update: Return to L.A. Chargers Before Regular Season?
MORE: Oregon Ducks Trenches: Three Defensive Linemen Making Impact, Impressing Coaches
Advertisement
MORE: Ohio State 2026 5-Star WR Commit: Oregon Ducks “Trying To Get Me To Flip”
The University of Oregon’s Board of Trustees voted Tuesday to approve a $1.55 billion operating budget for the next fiscal year.
But they asked university leadership to return with an amended proposal by Dec. 15, when more details about future budget cuts will be known.
FILE — The Board of Trustees recently approved next year’s budget for the University of Oregon. The vote comes several weeks after the school’s president announced that he wants the university to reduce its annual budget as revenues and out-of-state enrollment decline.
Brian Bull / KLCC
Advertisement
The vote comes several weeks after University of Oregon President Karl Scholz announced that he wants the school to reduce its annual budget by around $65 million.
At a trustees meeting Monday, Scholz said the estimated budget shortfall for next year is just around $23 million. But he said out-of-state enrollment is below historical norms for the second year in a row, and it’s unlikely to bounce back.
“One year can be an aberration. Two years is a pattern,” said Scholz. “And I believe we have to treat it as a new reality.”
Scholz said in May that discussions about the budget would happen over a six-month period. He said no final decisions about cuts would be made over this summer.
On Monday, UO Senate President Dyana Mason told trustees that the Senate had approved a new process to allow for community feedback in the cost-cutting process.
Advertisement
Mason said the provost will work with the deans on budget proposals, finding “clear rationale” for why programs are considered for elimination.
The provost would then bring those proposals to the Senate Committee for Academic Modifications—which includes staff, faculty and students—for feedback.
Once the plans are nearly finalized, the Senate could then hold a period for public comment.
Mason told trustees that a six-month timeline is better than the three months that frustrated some staff last year, but she recommended taking however much time is necessary.
“The worst situation would be rushing forward to make decisions without appropriate evidence, data, feedback from the people that are most in the know about the impact on our students,” said Mason.
Advertisement
UO’s Board of Trustees Chair Steve Holwerda said that every week that university delays the decisions could cost them millions of dollars.
Nathan Wilk is a reporter with the KLCC newsroom.This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.
It is part of OPB’s broader effort to ensure that everyone in our region has access to quality journalism that informs, entertains and enriches their lives. To learn more, visit our journalism partnerships page.
Sign up today for OPB’s “First Look” – your daily guide to the most important news and culture stories from around the Northwest.
Oregon’s juvenile justice system has been reshaped in recent years by a sweeping reform law that changed how the state handles minors accused of serious crimes.
Senate Bill 1008, which took effect in 2020, ended automatic transfers of juveniles into adult court and eliminated life without parole sentences for juveniles. The law also created “second-look” hearings and established parole eligibility after 15 years for certain offenders who committed crimes before turning 18.
To help explain the law and its impact, KVAL’s Frannie Pedersen put together a timeline video tracing the history of Senate Bill 1008, from the passage of Measure 11 in 1994 to the reforms that later reshaped Oregon’s juvenile justice system.
Advertisement
BE THE FIRST TO COMMENT
The video breaks down how the law changed, why lawmakers pushed for reform, and how SB 1008 continues to influence Oregon’s justice system today. Viewers can watch the full video for a detailed timeline and explanation of the changes.
PORTLAND, Ore. — A New Jersey man was sentenced to federal prison last Friday for conspiring to distribute fentanyl, announced U.S. Attorney Scott E. Bradford for the District of Oregon.
Mark T. Eager, 34, was sentenced to 135 months in federal prison and five years of supervised release.
“This defendant showed a blatant disregard for human life by trafficking fentanyl across the United States,” said U.S. Attorney Bradford. “My office will continue to pursue those who profit from poisoning our communities, and we will use every available resource and partnership to combat fentanyl trafficking and keep Oregonians safe.”
“This investigation brought together law enforcement agencies from across the nation,” said Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Seattle acting Special Agent in Charge April Miller. “Homeland Security Investigations special agents from Portland, Newark, and Houston contributed to the case, along with the Portland Police Bureau and HIDTA HIT officers, who were instrumental in identifying Eager. His 11-year sentence sends a clear message: no matter where you are in the country or the world, if you attempt to sell narcotics online to Americans, we will find you.”
Advertisement
“Fentanyl trafficking poses a grave threat to communities across the United States, and Homeland Security Investigations is committed to working with our partners to disrupt and dismantle the criminal networks responsible,” said HSI Houston Special Agent in Charge Lucia Cabral-DeArmas. “This case demonstrates the power of interagency collaboration under the Homeland Security Task Force initiative, leveraging resources from across the country to hold traffickers accountable and protect the American people. We will continue to pursue those who endanger lives through the distribution of dangerous synthetic opioids, and we remain steadfast in our mission to safeguard our communities from the violence and instability caused by transnational criminal organizations.”
“By following this offender’s digital trail, Homeland Security Investigations and our law enforcement partners nationwide executed federal search warrants, dismantled an active dark web fentanyl packaging operation and recovered deadly amounts of fentanyl, thousands of dollars in cryptocurrency, and a trove of electronic devices and packaging materials,” said HSI Newark Acting Special Agent in Charge Spiros Karabinas. “This case is a powerful example of how coordinated, data-driven investigations can disrupt dangerous networks and help protect our communities from lethal synthetic opioids.”
According to court documents, from November 2023 through June 2024, Eager and his co-conspirator sold fentanyl on the Dark Net and Telegram. Eager operated as the vendor WRSEH10 and marketed the fentanyl as “China White Synthetic Heroin.”
In June 2024, HSI agents executed search warrants on two residences associated with Eager in Kearny, New Jersey, and seized over 360 grams of powdered fentanyl, counterfeit M30 pills, drug ledgers, cellular phones, two computers, and drug packaging consistent with three deliveries that were sent to Oregon.
On September 4, 2024, a federal grand jury in Portland returned a four-count indictment charging Eager with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and distribution of fentanyl.
Advertisement
On February 4, 2026, Eager pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl.
HSI Portland and HSI Houston investigated this case with assistance from HSI Newark, the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) and the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Interdiction Task Force (HIT). Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Kerin prosecuted the case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey assisted the U.S. Attorney’s in Oregon in obtaining the search warrants that were executed in Kearny.
