Today, we’re going to take a look at the Past, Present, and Future of recently departed Pitt Running Backs Darrin Hall and Qadree Ollison

After historic senior years, Pitt Running Backs Qadree Ollison and Darrin Hall’s college careers are now over. What did the duo do this past year to consider their final campaigns historic? They only rushed for 1,213 and 1,144 yards respectively, becoming the first pair of Pitt teammates to rush for over 1,000 yards in the same season. Additionally, it wouldn’t be hyperbole to say that this year’s team would have been in trouble without these two guys having such great seasons. With former Offensive Coordinator Shawn Watson’s awful play-calling and aversion to a modern passing attack, it’s extremely unlikely that Pitt would have won the Coastal division and earned a Sun Bowl bid without the stellar play of the two seniors (not to mention the blocking work done by the Offensive Line and Fullback George Aston).They were recognized as All-ACC selections after the season for their exploits, with Ollison being selected to the 2nd team and Hall the 3rd team. Both players undeniably had a successful final season with the Panthers after both had a up-and-down times at Pitt. Now that their college careers are over, it’s time to take a look back at their time with the Panthers, begin determining their place in the pantheon of the school’s great Running Backs, and looking at what may be next for the two.

Qadree Ollison

Qadree Ollison came to Pitt in the Class of 2014, the final group brought in by former Head Coach Paul Chryst. According to the 247 Composite Rankings, he was rated as 3-star and ranked as the 51st Running Back and 6th in the state of New York. Ollison was fairly heavily recruited, with offers from 10 Power 5 schools including Penn State. Chryst also contended with Wisconsin, his alma mater and future employer, in attempting to sign Ollison. He would beat out the Badgers to land the Buffalo native, bringing him to Pittsburgh. Ollison would burst out in a big way in 2015, following taking a redshirt his first year. An injury to James Conner in the 2015 season opener gave him a chance that he seized, rushing for 207 yards against Youngstown State. After it was revealed that Conner’s injury would keep him sidelined for the entire season, Ollison was promoted to full-time starting Running Back. He took advantage of the opportunity and rushed for an impressive 1,121 yards, topping 100 yards in 5 games and averaging 5.3 yards per rush in the process. He won ACC Offensive Rookie of the Year, beating out Lamar Jackson, and tied with teammate Jordan Whitehead for the overall conference Rookie of the Year award.

The next season James Conner returned and took back over as starting Running Back. Ollison was still expected to contribute though given his breakout season. However, new Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada’s offensive system often utilized jet sweeps and shovel passes in lieu of a traditional rushing attack. While Conner had a nice season, recording nearly 1,400 yards from scrimmage, Ollison found himself buried in the depth chart in a crowded group of Running Backs. He was the 6th leading rusher and 4th among the Running Backs on the team with only 127 yards. His 36 yards against Penn State represented a season-high in any game and there were 5 games where he failed to record a single rushing attempt. Conner was of course the leading rusher, but Chawntez Moss was utilized more and more as Conner’s primary backup as the season went along.

The next season saw Ollison starting out strong with performances of 91 and 96 yards respectively in the first two games against Youngstown State and Penn State. Unfortunately, those two totals would represent season highs. Ollison would improve on his previous year’s total, but the 398 yards he recorded were still a far cry from his rookie campaign. His low totals this season were due to a confluence of factors generally outside of Ollison’s control though. They included the inability of the Panthers to find an effective full-time starting Quarterback to allow for a balanced offensive attack, weak offensive line play that hampered the running game as a whole, and the introduction of the inept Shawn Watson as offensive coordinator. Also hampering the overall running game and Ollison’s ability to accumulate yards was the loss of fullback George Aston for virtually the entire season due to injury. By the end of the season, Hall was being utilized as the primary halfback, while Ollison was more and more taking Aston’s role in the offense.

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