Oregon adds commitment from Minnesota RB transfer Mar'keise Irving
Oregon continues to add to its offseason haul and the latest player to join the Ducks will be part of an overhauled running back room.
Minnesota transfer Mar’keise “Bucky” Irving has committed to play for Dan Lanning’s program just a few weeks after entering the NCAA Transfer Portal. The 5-foot-10 back shined as a freshman for the Gophers and ended up leading the team with 966 all-purpose yards in 2021.
Irving played in 12 games during his first season and rushed for 699 yards on 133 carries to go with four touchdowns. His 699 rushing yards put him 12th among all players on the Big Ten rushing list.
The Chicago native also contributed on special teams as a kickoff returner. Irving made his collegiate debut on special teams with two kickoff returns that included a 41-yarder against Miami (Ohio).
He contributed to the passing game as well leading to eight catches for 73 yards.
Irving could end up feeling right at home in the Pac-12 after one of his best performances last season came against one of his new league foes.
His first collegiate carries came on the road against Colorado, and he gained 89 yards rushing on 15 attempts. The game included one of his longest runs of the season that went for 28 yards.
Irving carried the ball at least 15 times in five different games, and he rushed for over 10o yards three times as a freshman. His most productive game came in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl against West Virginia as he had 129 yards on the ground on 19 carries.
He scored two touchdowns and rushed for 110 yards against Northwestern earlier in the season.
Irving will have three seasons of eligibility remaining, in addition to a redshirt year, once he joins the Ducks.
Oregon has has gone through a transition at the running back position this offseason after losing key players CJ Verdell (NFL Draft) and Travis Dye (transfer to USC). The Ducks added Western Kentucky transfer Noah Whittington earlier in the offseason and signed four-star recruit Jordan Bryant-James in February to bolster the group that also includes returners Byron Cardwell and Sean Dollars.
Irving was rated as a high three-star recruit by Rivals while at Hillcrest High School in Country Club Hills, Illinois. He held offers from schools across the country including Utah, Michigan, Louisville, Iowa, South Carolina, Texas Tech, West Virginia and Nebraska among many others.
He has been widely considered one of the top available players after entering the transfer portal in early April.