Oregon RB Travis Dye enters transfer portal

Oregon’s best offensive player will be at a new school in 2022.

Running back Travis Dye has put his name into the transfer portal. Dye rushed for 1,271 yards and 16 touchdowns in his fourth season of college football in 2021. Dye has one more season of eligibility remaining as a graduate transfer.

Dye immediately becomes the No. 1 running back on the transfer market as he’s been extremely productive throughout his four years with the Ducks. Dye rushed for over 600 more yards than any other Oregon player in 2021 and led the team in catches with 46 for 402 yards.

Dye has played in 48 games across four seasons at Oregon, though 2021 was just the first time that he had amassed over 200 carries in a season. He’s rushed 521 times for 3,111 yards and 21 TDs in his career. He’s averaged six or more yards per carry in three of his four seasons with the team.

Oregon could also find itself without C.J. Verdell in 2022 as well. Verdell had 77 carries for 397 yards and five touchdowns in five games this past season. When asked about Verdell and Dye on Wednesday, new Oregon coach Dan Lanning said that “some of these guys are still going through the process of making some of those decisions” regarding their futures. Like Dye, Verdell is eligible to enter the NFL draft.

If both Dye and Verdell don’t return in 2022, Oregon’s offense will look a lot different. Auburn QB Bo Nix is transferring to the Ducks and the team’s leading returning rusher would be Byron Cardwell. He had 420 yards on 61 carries in 2021.

Penn State’s Noah Cain transfers to LSU

Former Penn State running back Noah Cain announced he was transferring to LSU on Thursday. Cain had 106 carries for 350 yards and four TDs in 2021. He returned to the field in 2021 after suffering a knee injury in 2020. Cain had just three carries before he was injured in 2020 and had rushed 84 times for 443 yards and eight touchdowns in 2019.

Cain’s transfer is one of the first big portal additions for new LSU coach Brian Kelly. Tyrion Davis-Price was the team’s leading rusher with 1,004 yards in 2021 but he opted out of the Texas Bowl in preparation for the 2022 NFL draft.