EUGENE -- Navigating the highs and lows have been a way of life for running back Tony Brooks-James during his Oregon Ducks career.

Last fall he lit the match on the very first play of the abbreviated Willie Taggart era with his 101-yard kickoff return to ignite an opening-day rout of Southern Utah at Autzen Stadium.

However, Brooks-James also experienced the Ducks' ground game getting stuffed for just 47 yards by a Boise State defense that didn't have to tackle burly Royce Freeman in Oregon's Las Vegas Bowl loss that kicked off new coach Mario Cristobal's tenure.

In between, the personal rollercoaster changed directions in a flash. One moment Brooks-James was scoring on a third-quarter pass as the Ducks rallied at Arizona State; the next, he was being dressed down on national television by Taggart for an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty for celebrating that very touchdown.

Now, the fifth-year senior ranks as the old man in the running backs room, toiling for his third position coach in as many seasons. He's played in 34 games and rushed for 1,557 yards and 14 touchdowns, which seems to make him the de facto clubhouse leader to succeed Freeman -- Oregon's all-time leading rusher -- as the starter.

Not so fast, says the speedster from Gainesville, Florida.

"I don't want to say just yet that I'm the starter, because anybody can come and get the position, so it's a work in progress every day," Brooks-James said. "My comfort level with the coaching staff is great right now.

"I'm approaching it with a rookie mindset. It's not etched in stone that I'm going to be the guy, so I have to go out and prove every day why I deserve that spot."

Brooks-James isn't the only burner in the backfield. Another senior, Taj Griffin, has 848 yards in 28 games and gives Oregon another outside threat. However, of the seven running backs on the spring roster, only two crack 200 pounds, and just barely. None packs the load of a full-speed Freeman.

Yet, under new assistant coach Jim Mastro, the Ducks have placed a premium on busting loose between the tackles. The watch word under Cristobal, who still coordinates the running game, is diversity.

"You've got to have a counter punch and you've got to have an answer," Cristobal said before Tuesday's practice, "and we've been working on answers. Last year we were fortunate enough to be eighth in the country in rushing, and we felt like we left a chunk of yardage out there, where we could have continued to tweak and make adjustments.

"Now, we've got it all, and our menu's much more diverse. ... I love the direction of our run game and I love the way Coach Mastro has incorporated some of the stuff from his knowledge to our schemes."

Mastro, hired away from Mike Leach's staff at Washington State, spent 11 seasons coaching running backs at Nevada from 2000-10, helping to develop the Wolf Pack's Pistol offense. Those concepts have migrated with him to Eugene, including new footwork for the backs that gives them time to read and react.

"It's more slow and deliberate, and then hit the hole," Brooks-James said. "Let things develop in front of you, then read your keys and go.

"It's working out good, because it gives me more time to see things at a slower pace and then I'm making a move at the line."

For a runner like Brooks-James whose bread-and-butter has been breaking wide to outrace defenders in space, the new inside approach might seem daunting.

However, at 5-foot-9 and 195 pounds, he's similar in stature to former Duck greats LaMichael James and Kenjon Barner, and current Pac-12 stars Bryce Love at Stanford and Myles Gaskin at Washington -- each of whom has thrived in an inside running attack.

That's why Brooks-James says he's embraced the change.

"It lets me know that the coaches have the confidence in me to run between the tackles," he said, "and I know I can run between the tackles. Maybe not every play, but I know I can run between the tackles.

"We've got some outside things that'll help me be more durable, so I'm looking forward to the future."

It also doesn't hurt that the Ducks are loaded across the offensive line and are incorporating their tight ends into their power approach.

"We're getting much more physical up front," Cristobal said. "We're getting downhill a lot better, our eye discipline has improved tremendously, and we have the benefit of having linemen who have power but are also athletic.

"I think we're a lot farther ahead (with the running game) than we were last year at this point. I think it's night and day."

Brooks-James also said he's heeding the coach's demand that the Ducks play with more discipline. Penalties that Cristobal labels as selfish, such as spiking the ball after a touchdown, won't be tolerated.

"According to coach, it's great to have emotions, but you've got to know when and where to control your emotions," Brooks-James said. "I guess I'm an emotional guy, but I'm working on personal discipline."

That includes being able to put last season's transgression in that loss at ASU in its proper perspective, as a lesson thoroughly learned and never forgotten.

"I can smile about it now," he said. "Back then I couldn't smile about it."

-- Ron Richmond for The Oregonian/OregonLive