ATLANTA -- Oregon's leading rusher Noah Whittington was cleared to play and is available for the Ducks on Friday night against Indiana in the College Football Playoff semifinal.
Coach Dan Lanning said the Ducks would lean on him at some point during the game. Whittington unexpectedly showed up on the Oregon injury report Thursday and was listed as questionable. He is dealing with an undisclosed injury and warmed up successfully in an attempt to play.
This development comes at a position where Oregon is dealing with significant depth issues, as the Ducks are already without Jordon Davison, their second-leading rusher who is out with an upper-body injury.
Oregon's actions this week appear to underscore the concern regarding the position. ESPN's Katie George reported earlier Friday that the Ducks moved two defensive players to tailback: safety Kilohana Haasenritter and linebacker Brayden Platt. (Haasenritter began his career as a tailback before moving to safety this fall.)
Oregon might still lean on freshman Dierre Hill Jr., who has 570 rushing yards on 70 carries.
Oregon's fourth-leading rusher, Jayden Limar, is in the transfer portal and not with the team. That leaves sixth-leading rusher Jay Harris -- quarterback Dante Moore is the fifth -- as a main option for the Ducks. Harris is also in the portal, but he has remained with the team. He has 116 yards on 26 carries.