Growing up in Lake Oswego, 100 miles north of the University of Oregon, it didn’t seem anything would keep Casey Filkins’ family from cheering for the Ducks. Until this Saturday. Maybe.
Filkins will be the starting running back when the Cardinal visits Oregon Saturday night (8 p.m. FS1), and Filkins expects about 25 friends and family members at Autzen Stadium.
“They’ve all told me that they’ll be rooting for me on Saturday,” Filkins said. “They obviously want to see me do well and have success. So that’s cool to hear that. I know they’re still gonna be rooting for the Ducks a little bit, honestly, but I’m just looking forward to going out there and playing in front of them.”
Filkins gave his supporters a lot to cheer about in his first start for the Cardinal ((1-2, 0-2 Pac-12) last week against Washington. The redshirt sophomore had 100 yards on 20 carries filling in for E.J. Smith, who suffered a season-ending injury in Week 2 against USC.
“Casey’s just got so many abilities,” Stanford coach David Shaw said. “He’s got the ability to be fast, quick, and explosive. He’s got vision, he’s got balance to change direction and make people miss. You know for a guy who’s not the biggest guy he gets yards after contact – he’s really good slithering between people and taking glancing blows and getting positive yards after contact. He catches the ball well out of the backfield, can line up outside as a receiver as well and make plays.”
The 5-11, 198-pound Filkins is also the team’s punt returner.
He was the consensus No. 1 recruit out of Oregon in the Class of 2020, and he left Lake Oswego High as the state record holder for career touchdowns (100), total yards (6,786) and rushing yards (4,596). But whether drawn by academics or distance from home, Filkins was always headed to the Bay Area for college: He first committed to Cal as a junior, and then switched to Stanford in the fall of his senior year.
Filkins was fourth on the depth chart at running back after the 2021 season, but Austin Jones and Nathaniel Peat transferred in January, and then Smith suffered his undisclosed injury.
Smith was actually in Filkins’ room when they heard that the injury would be season-ending.
“I’m just super disappointed for E.J., honestly,” Filkins said. “It breaks my heart because obviously he’s my running back mate, but he’s my best friend too. In that moment, you don’t really know what to say. He’s put in so much work this offseason. At the end of the day, it’s God’s plan and God’s timing.”
Filkins said that Smith is now his biggest supporter. Filkins also has added confidence from his performance against Washington, though it also showed how much room for improvement there was. Shaw said Filkins can still be more patient, while Filkins said he needed to work on his pass protection. Filkins also stumbled coming out of a break and bobbled a pass that turned into a red zone interception for Washington.
That was one of Stanford’s 11 turnovers through three games, the worst turnover rate in the FBS and something that needs to be fixed if the Cardinal has any chance on Saturday.
“It really comes down to mistakes that we’ve made, that we’ve hurt ourselves, and we haven’t executed to the best of our ability,” Filkins said. “I truly believe and have confidence in our team, and especially on offense, I think we’re right there, you know. I think we’re ready to have a big-time game and kind of propel us for the rest of the season.”
The Cardinal hasn’t beaten an FBS team since Oct. 2, 2021, when it knocked off then-No. 3 Oregon in overtime.
Stanford is a 17-point underdog against the Ducks (3-1, 1-0) Saturday, but Filkins said the team can draw confidence from last year’s game.
“You ask anybody last year outside of our program, they wouldn’t have given us a shot to beat those dudes at home, and then that ended up being an awesome victory for us,” Filkins said. “So we believe in ourselves and it’s really just about executing to what we know our full potential is.”
Source: www.mercurynews.com