Deep breakdown of James Madison RB Wayne Knight

The 2025 regular season is over, and the playoffs are now on the horizon for the Oregon Ducks, as they secured a home playoff game as the No. 5 seed in the CFP and will face off against the No. 12 James Madison Dukes.

As soon as James Madison was announced as the Ducks' opponent, you can bet head coach Dan Lanning and his staff went right to work in diving into the game film on the Dukes. Among the first things they'll see is the explosive rushes of running back Wayne Knight, who can single-handedly break a game open when he finds open space.

Oregon has faced a number of above-average running backs this season, namely Oregon State's Anthony Hankerson, Penn State's duo of Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton, Rutgers' Antwan Raymond and Minnesota's Darius Taylor. None had more than 60 yards against the Ducks and their stout quartet on the defensive line of Matayo Uiagalelei, Teitum Tuioti, A'Mauri Washington and Bear Alexander.

But Knight poses a challenge that Oregon hasn't seen this season due to his lack of size that he uses to his advantage and immense speed. The Dukes' running back has the skillset to cause issues for the Ducks' defense.

With Lanning and Co. going to work on Knight, we did the same, breaking down his background, statistical profile, best and worst performances, playstyle and how the Ducks should gameplan to slow him down.

Let's get into it.

Who is Wayne Knight?

Knight was a little-known recruit coming out of Smyrna High School in Delaware — so little-known that he isn't even in 247 Sports' system. That may have been due to his stature, as Knight measures in at 5-foot-7 and 190 pounds. Without necessarily looking the part, commanding recruiting attention can be extremely difficult.

However, James Madison took a chance on the lightly-recruited back, as Knight joined the program in 2022. He appeared in eight games and carried the ball five times for negative eight yards. He was used more on special teams and in the passing game, as he returned four kicks and caught five passes for 63 yards.

His 2023 campaign was even quieter, as he utilized his redshirt and played in just four games, recording four carries for 23 yards.

Knight first began to crack the rotation during his redshirt sophomore season in 2024, as he competed in all 13 contests and started two games, primarily backing up starter George Pettaway, a former four-star prospect and North Carolina transfer. Pettaway ran for just under 1,000 yards and five touchdowns and was set to return for 2025, potentially keeping Knight as the backup for another season.

The two split carries, with Knight recording 12 totes to Pettaway's 15 in the Dukes' first two games before Pettaway suffered an injury in the third game. From there, Knight took over the full-time starting job and ran with it — literally.

With Pettaway sidelined for the next three weeks, Knight totaled 347 yards and two touchdowns. He's continued to hold down the job since, with Pettaway finishing the regular-season with just 33 carries for 193 yards. Knight, meanwhile, was named to the All-Sun Belt First Team Offense.

His performance in the Sun Belt title game was as impressive as it gets, as he went over 200 yards and a touchdown against the Troy Trojans.

Knight began the 2025 regular-season as the backup running back and ended it with claiming the AP Player of the Week honor during conference championship weekend.

Statistical Profile

2025 Season Stats: 190 rushes, 1,263 yards, 9 TDs / / 37 catches, 379 yards, 1 TD / / 20 punt returns, 180 yards

Career Stats: 276 rushes, 1,727 yards, 11 TDs / / 58 catches, 590 yards, 3 TDs

Knight's Playstyle

Knight's combination of quick feet and vision make him great, as he ponders where the hole is as he approaches the line of scrimmage and hits it with zero hesitation. Amazingly, he has nine runs of 30-plus yards this season, more than 91 FBS teams.

His 5-foot-7 frame makes it hard for tacklers to both see and bring him down, as he squirts by the defense. But when he is contacted, he makes all of his 190 pounds felt by defenders — make no mistake, Knight has as much ability to run through tacklers as he does running away from them.

He doesn't do his damage just as a ball carrier however, as he also leads the Dukes in catches. James Madison offensive coordinator Dean Kennedy clearly feels confident in Knight against man-to-man coverage, as he'll send him out of the backfield on quick angle and out routes against linebackers. And, as he shows in the run game, Knight is extremely tough to contain in the open field.

It's not a stretch to say that Knight is as talented as any back the Ducks have faced in 2025. With one year of eligibility remaining, Knight will likely have the opportunity to follow his head coach Bob Chesney and offensive coordinator Kennedy to UCLA, where he has the skillset to step in as the starter from Day 1 if he chooses.

Best and Worst Games

Knight is playing the best football of his career right now, as he had the best game of his career in the Sun Belt Conference championship game against Troy. In total, he carried the ball 21 times for 212 yards and a touchdown while catching two passes for 11 more yards. He was aided by a 73-yard touchdown rush early in the second quarter, but that's what Knight's game is, as many of his yards come on explosive runs.

That was his fourth 100-yard game of the season, as he went over 100 against Georgia Southern (19 carries, 151 yards, 1 TD), Louisiana (20 carries, 111 yards) and Washington State (15 carries, 126 yards, 1 TD). His highest receiving came against Marshall, as he hauled in four passes for 79 yards and a touchdown.

Aside from the two games to start the season in which Knight was splitting time with Pettaway, Knight didn't have many subpar games. His lowest rushing total past Week 2 was against Texas State, as he carried the ball 13 times for 48 yards but he also caught two passes for 69 yards, going over the century mark in total yards in James Madison's 52-20 win.

Knight has been at or over 85 rush yards in each of the last five games, peaking at the right time heading into the CFP.

How Should Oregon Gameplan Against Knight?

Considering their track record of containing every top back that they've faced this season, not much should change for defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi's defense. They have a solid front four and a solid linebacker and de-facto linebacker in Bryce Boettcher and Dillon Thieneman, respectively, but Lupoi will need more from Jerry Mixon and Devon Jackson. The pair have underwhelmed this season and could be exposed if they find themselves in a one-on-one open-field situation against Knight.

They may be particularly exposed when Knight releases out of the backfield. Neither Mixon, Jackson or Boettcher are particularly talented in pass coverage and could be taken advantage of.

That's where Thieneman will come into play, as he's far and away the Ducks' top defender in space. In the breakdown of JMU quarterback Alonza Barnett III, who is also extremely elusive on the ground, we suggested that Thieneman should pose essentially as an all-time spy.

This is where Lupoi will face a conundrum. Do you spy on Barnett with Thieneman or have Thieneman's job be in containing Knight in the pass game? Loading the box, bringing both safety Thieneman and Aaron Flowers down a couple yards and relying on the front four to win at the line of scrimmage is another option.

It'll be interesting to see what the Ducks decide to do, as both Knight and Barnett are playmakers in the backfield who can break long runs in an instance — a recipe for an upset.

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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Breaking down James Madison RB Wayne Knight