Thomas Tyner was a featured running back for Oregon when the Ducks were still at the height of their offensive powers. The native Oregonian ran for more than 700 yards and nine touchdowns as a true freshman in 2013, earning rookie all-American nods. He topped 500 yards out of the backfield the next year, when Oregon played in the first College Football Playoff and beat Florida State in the Rose Bowl semifinal.
Former Oregon running back Thomas Tyner planning comeback ... at Oregon State
Tyner is plotting a unique return to the field.
Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images
In 2015, Tyner had left shoulder surgery before fall camp. He never played another down for the Ducks, and he announced a medical retirement in February 2016.
Tyner is hoping to return to football – not with Oregon, but with its bitter in-state rival.
The Oregonian reported Saturday that Thomas aims to transfer to Oregon State and play for the Beavers next season. Tyner told columnist John Canzano that the Beavs are the only team he wants to play for and that he is, indeed, making a comeback. Oregon gave him his official release to play elsewhere, according to the report.
It’s not clear that Oregon State has a scholarship for Tyner, though Canzano expects he’ll eventually get one and join the team. (If not, Tyner is willing to walk on.)
This doesn’t seem like any kind of shot at Oregon.
A player transferring to his former team’s bitter rival is not unheard of, but it’s rare in a sport that allows teams to set conditions for certain transfers. “Don’t go to our biggest rival” is a generic example of such a restriction. It’s also just odd, in a lot of circumstances, to go from one side of a blood feud (or a Civil War) to another.
But Tyner’s an Oregon native whom the Beavers’ previous coaching staff chased when he was coming out of high school. He told Canzano he went to their games in Corvallis “all the time as a kid.” He’s familiar with the Beavers, the only FBS program in the state other than UO.
“I’ve wanted to be a Beaver my whole life,” he said.
Because of an NCAA scholarship rule, it’d be difficult (and maybe even impossible) for Oregon to bring Tyner back. When Tyner medically retired, Oregon gained a scholarship slot to use on someone else, within the FBS limit of 85 scholarships per team. If Tyner were to play for Oregon again, he’d have to be retroactively counted against the Ducks’ scholarship limits for the last two seasons, in addition to the next one. Oregon probably used all of its scholarship slots for 2015 and 2016, making that impossible.
“This says nothing against Oregon. This is a regret thing. He just wants to get back to football,” his father, John Tyner, told The Oregonian.
Tyner should be able to play immediately. Most transfers have to sit a year before playing at a new school, but there’s an exception for athletes who have missed two consecutive years of action. Tyner hasn’t played a game since the end of the 2014 season, so he’s fulfilled that period.
It’s possible that Oregon State’s about to get a big boost.
Tyner has endured a couple of serious shoulder injuries, and no medical comeback is close to a sure thing. But Tyner is supremely talented, a former five-star recruit who could’ve gone just about anywhere out of high school.
If he can recapture even a portion of the ability he showed in averaging 6 yards per carry as a freshman in 2013, he’d be a useful player for Gary Andersen’s Beavers, if they agreed to add him to the roster. (It’d seem weird if they didn’t, as long as he’s cleared.)
Tyner wouldn’t have to carry the rushing load by himself. The Beavs will return redshirt junior running back Ryan Nall, who should be one of the Pac-12’s best runners.
It stunk when Tyner’s career ended. It’d be great to see him succeed on the way back.
See More:
