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Oregon Ducks running back Thomas Tyner (24) breaks away from a defender as the Ducks beat the Colorado Buffaloes, 57-16, at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colo., on Saturday.

(Randy L. Rasmussen/The Oregonian)

EUGENE -- It was only a few months ago that true freshman running back Thomas Tyner was the big man on Aloha High’s campus. Two weeks ago, though, he simply was lost on Oregon’s.

Because of a six-week gap here between the start of Oregon football practices and fall trimester, Tyner confronted his second steep learning curve of his nascent career already by the first week of classes. For a month and a half, football was his sole worry: fighting off Division I defenders, digesting a playbook and recovering from an injured ankle.

Now, his concern was finding his keys (he’d lost them) and his next classroom.

“I was struggling my first day. You’re not just going hallway to hallway, you’re going all the way across campus,” Tyner said a few days after being lost, able to laugh about the incident. “It’s a little hard but the whole thing I learned from it is time management. You’ve just got to get to where you’ve got to be.”

In the weeks since, he’s taken advantage of De’Anthony Thomas’ injured right ankle to play earlier in games than ever and as his role has grown, any follow-ups about his adjustment to campus geography have gone unasked. But if the five-star talent with sky-high expectations has worked past those early mishaps with the same speed and vision he’s displayed in the first half of his freshman season, he should be just fine.

Of the handful of running backs to play for UO as true freshmen -- excluding Byron Marshall, who is not even two years into a promising career -- all became stars. Though five games is too small of a sample size to judge any UO Hall of Fame credentials, Tyner’s production -- 261 rushing yards and five touchdowns on 47 carries – and early aptitude echo the freshman seasons of Derek Loville, Terrence Whitehead, Jonathan Stewart, De’Anthony Thomas and Marshall, and could exceed them, too.

“I think the fact that he is playing and the fact that he’s playing early means the coaches trust him and the players trust him,” said former UO coach Mike Bellotti, who added each of those players have faced similar hurdles as freshmen.

“They've been used to being the hero and a star when it's all positive,” he said. “But now there can be negative mixed in as they fumble or blow an assignment as the case may be. … The other thing that all of them learn very quickly if they're going to be successful is the speed of the game changes.”

In 1986 Loville rushed 140 times, more than double the carries of any true freshman since except for Marshall, who had 87 in 2012. Despite not playing against Nicholls State in the season opener, Tyner is on pace to break 100 attempts by averaging 9.4 rushes per game and far exceed Stewart’s 53 and Whitehead’s 63. Tyner has also averaged 5.6 yards per carry, which would be the second-highest among those backs – Thomas’ average of 10.8 yards is likely untouchable -- if it holds. He’s also lost both his fumbles so far.

Statistics can skew meaning, however. His use is more of a bellwether of success, coaches say. In the case of Stewart’s 2005 freshman season, an early injury stunted his statistics but didn’t throw off his importance during a late run to the Holiday Bowl.

Both Gary Campbell, who coached all those backs as UO’s running backs coach, and Bellotti mentioned a key difference between Tyner and Stewart. Both Stewart and Tyner were physically dominant in high school, but Tyner has been better at anticipating running lanes in college with his vision.

“He just needed to run with his eyes, run more intelligently instead of physically,” said Bellotti of Stewart, adding UO coaches have raved about Tyner’s vision and rare ability as a receiver to adjust to passes.

But just like Stewart, Tyner’s role is trending in a similar, important direction as the season grows.

He debuted in a long-over blowout victory at Virginia and mop-up duty against Tennessee but played early in crucial situations against Colorado and Washington the last two weeks thanks, in part, to an injury to Thomas. That progression, combined with Marshall’s 2012 lesson of what confidence can do for a back, feels familiar for Campbell, too.

“It took him until this year to where now I feel he knows exactly where he needs to be,” Campbell said of Marshall. “That’s why you see him getting better each week.

“Same thing is happening with Thomas right now. He’s still a little bit tentative at times because I don’t think he really realizes that he’s moving up to another level slowly. His abilities are moving up to that level, too. In high school he was heads above the competition and the competition is stronger now but with work and confidence, I think he’s going to rise.”

Smaller things stand out for offensive line coach Steve Greatwood and George Fox coach Chris Casey, who was Tyner’s high school coach at Aloha.

Greatwood said along with speed and agility, Tyner’s patience in his offensive linemen to open holes between the tackles – and his willingness to run in traffic, period – is inherent but can be tough to teach to young backs.

“Most guys early on want to bounce everything outside and that’s not where the hole’s going to be,” Greatwood said. “He’s really got a good feel for not outrunning his blocks because, let’s face it, on sweep plays he could be out there five yards ahead of my guys.”

Casey has watched as Tyner has picked up more blocking duties than ever, and his response to the physicality of such responsibilities. UO coach Mark Helfrich on Tuesday specifically mentioned Tyner’s blitz pick-up against Washington that keyed a long gain. Playing with the “dings” that come with that duty has impressed Casey and goes back to the toughness Bellotti emphasized.

“That’s a sign of maturity in how he responds,” he said.

Campbell has been inundated with questions surrounding Tyner’s readiness or role all season, and has taken the long view each time by preaching the importance of practice repetitions.

It is the same foundation he instilled in each true freshman back who preceded Tyner. Now, it’s produced some of the same statistics and qualities, too.

“There’s always that transition that has to be made and once a guy learns what he’s doing then he can really show his physical talent,” Campbell said. “Until then they’re kind of stumbling in the dark.”

And what about Tyner?

“There’s a light at the end of the tunnel.”