Has Thomas Tyner arrived?

Published 12:00 am Saturday, January 10, 2015

DALLAS — Oregon running backs coach Gary Campbell is not calling the way Thomas Tyner played most of this year a disappointment.

But Campbell does admit that most of the season Tyner never lived up to the expectations the coaches had for him.

“Coming into the season, we had some expectations for him,” Campbell says. “Not that he didn’t do well, but he didn’t really excel like I hoped he would. You could still see little flashes of what we thought he should be. But he just wasn’t quite consistent.

“Even though this is his second year, he was still just two years out of high school. He didn’t redshirt, so he just hadn’t developed that toughness. Hadn’t made that transition.

“A lot of guys make it slower than others. He was thrown into a situation where there were big, high expectations from himself as well as other people around him. That may have put a little pressure on him.”

During the Rose Bowl against Florida State, though, Tyner played the way Campbell always knew he could. The 5-11, 215-pound true sophomore out of Aloha High gained 124 yards and scored two touchdowns on 13 carries (9.5 yards per carry).

“The lineman and the receivers blocked and opened holes for me,” Tyner says. “That’s what brought me success and the team success, as well.”

While Campbell would agree that a large part of Tyner’s success was because of blocking, the longtime UO assistant points out something else: Tyner finally started listening to him and running hard.

“He really felt he was kind of a shake-and-bake guy,” Campbell says. “He was always dancing around trying to find wide-open holes that weren’t there. Now he’s realized what we’ve been trying to tell him. He’s more of a power guy. He’s a big strong kid with a lot of speed. If he can get all that weight moving fast, he’s tougher to tackle than he is trying to dance around and avoid people. He showed a little bit of that in the Rose Bowl game. I hope that carries over and continues.

“He just doesn’t have that quickness, that juking style. He kind of felt like he should have that. I don’t know if it was because he was trying to emulate (former Ducks running backs LaMichael James and Kenjon Barner), or what.

“The thing I’ve tried to impress upon him is he’s got to be his own guy. He’s got to do what he does best. (Running hard) is what he does best. He’s learning more and more who he really is. That’s the key.”

Tyner will go into Monday’s national championship game against Ohio State healthier than he has been since the beginning of the season. Leading up to the Rose Bowl, Tyner had missed three consecutive games with injuries and had been banged up much of the season.

“It was frustrating,” Tyner says. “At the same time, it motivated me to work harder in the treatment room and get back as soon as I could.”

Finally being able to go out and play with good health in the Rose Bowl gives Tyner a lot of confidence heading into the national championship showdown at AT&T Stadium.

“I gained a lot of momentum, a lot of confidence,” Tyner says. “Coming back from injuries, it boosted my confidence a lot. It’s a good feeling. Going into a big stage like his healthy is always a good feeling.”

Tyner’s ability to contribute to the offense takes pressure off Oregon freshman running back Royce Freeman and should allow both tailbacks to carry the ball with fresh legs throughout the game.

“It helps me a lot,” Tyner says. “It helps the team to be able to have more of a rotation and help guys get out when they’re tired. It makes everyone fresh. If someone needs a break, you get someone in there with fresh legs, and it just goes back and forth.”

Tyner says Ohio State’s big, physical defensive line will be the biggest challenge for the Ducks’ ground attack.

“They have a big D-line,” Tyner says. “It’ll give us a challenge, but we’ll be just fine. We have to trust our scheme and trust the process of what our coaches are teaching us. If we execute, we’ll be just fine.”

Throughout the season, Tyner’s numbers have been OK, but certainly not outstanding. He rushed for 522 yards and five TDs on 101 carries (5.1 yards per carry) and caught nine passes for 65 yards and one TD.

Part of the reason the expectations have been so high for Tyner was because of his stellar play as a prep. In his senior season with the Warriors, he ran for a single-season state record of 3,415 yards, including rushing for 643 yards and 10 TDs against Lakeridge High.

“The people from his home town and the people all over Oregon, knowing the things he had accomplished, thought he was going to come right in and start doing the same things he did in high school, when he was such a superior athlete,” Campbell says. “Coming to the college level, particularly the competition we play, everyone is pretty close to the same talent level. You’ve got to step it up a little bit if you’re going to be dominant. Otherwise, you’re just going to be another guy.”

Tyner is proud to play for his home state team on college football’s biggest stage.

“It means a lot to represent the state and play for Oregon,” Tyner says. “I know I’ve got a lot of people watching back home in Eugene and Aloha. It means a lot for me, and it means a lot for them. It’s a great feeling.”

Tyner says there is some friendly trash talking between him and fellow Oregonian’s Keanon Lowe (Jesuit High) and Tyson Coleman (Lake Oswego High) about their former prep teams.

“It’s all fun,” Tyner says. “We’re good with each other. It’s a lot of fun to talk trash to each other. That makes us a lot stronger, knowing we’re from Oregon. It makes our bond a lot stronger. It’s fun playing with people you played against in high school.”

Tyner also is close with his out-of-state teammates. Freeman says the two feed off each other and push each other.

“The way he runs and the way I run, we make each other better,” Freeman says. “We’re trying to compete against each other, and we compete for each other.”

Campbell says that Tyner has grown as a tailback, especially recently.

“He’s grown a lot,” Campbell says. “And most of that growth has happened in the last few weeks.”

Ducks coach Mark Helfrich believes Tyner will continue growing.

“His best football is ahead of him, and he’s really good (now),” Helfrich says. “It’s just a matter of consistency, focus, concentration, and a little bit of luck in terms of staying healthy.”