Oregon’s LaMichael James has played only 17 games in a Duck uniform.
Yet, it’s already clear he’s begun a torrid rushing pace that Oregon fans have never seen over the course of a career. Having started 15 of those 17 games, James has experienced nearly unprecedented success that many people might not have seen coming.
James was a four-star recruit out of high school and spent his first year in Eugene on the scout team practicing against the first-team defense and the likes of future NFL players Jairus Byrd, Nick Reed, and Patrick Chung, among others.
Around that time, coaches, players, members of the media and spectators began to notice what a talent this James guy was, carving up one of the top defenses in the conference on a daily basis. One long year later, James had his number called following the Boise State aftermath last September.
Since then, James has put up mind-blowing numbers even the most casual of fans would gawk over. His 5-foot-9-inch, 185-pound frame is ideal for the Oregon offense, which was shown in last Saturday’s 257-yard outburst against the Stanford Cardinal.
Stepping back and looking at the historical context, James has a different running style and physique compared to many of the running backs you’ll see on Oregon’s top-10 career rushing list. James is physically shadowed by former Oregon greats Jonathan Stewart, Terrence Whitehead and Jeremiah Johnson (that list continues).
Regardless of stature, James is guaranteed to become Oregon’s all-time leading rusher by the time he leaves the program, given a couple of variables.
First, avoiding the injury bug. James has proved time and time again to be a tough runner between the tackles and has responded from what looked like serious injuries only to be back practicing in full pads within a day or two. But as the hits keep coming, staying healthy over the course of a four-year playing career becomes more challenging.
Second, can he keep up the current pace? Averaging 178 yards per game, ranking second in the nation behind Michigan quarterback (and Heisman front-runner) Denard Robinson, James continues to find holes that some backs simply couldn’t squeeze through. But really, James won’t need to keep such a staggering pace to etch his name as the best — yes, the best — running back in program history.
James needs 1,039 more yards to become the career-rushing leader and has 29 more scheduled games (not counting bowl appearances) to reach that mark. So conceivably he would only need to rush for less than 36 yards per game for the rest of his career to move into the top spot. Frightening isn’t it? Especially when you remind yourself this kid’s only a sophomore, with the majority of his playing days still ahead of him.
In reaching the 257-yard mark Saturday, James etched his named onto another Oregon category: single-game leading rushers. Having surpassed the 200-yard mark twice in four games this season, James now has two of the top six spots on the all-time list for single game performances. Former Oregon great Onterrio Smith (285) holds down the top spot, followed by James (257), then Stewart with the third (253) and fourth (251) spots, Bobby Moore (249) in fifth, before James (227) shows up again in a tie with Tony Cherry.
Let me reiterate the key point here. LaMichael James has started 15 games for the Oregon Ducks and is already knocking down records that have stood for longer than he’s been playing organized football. The enticing part? He has nearly double the amount of games it took him to reach a 2,000-yard mark left ahead of him.
Ultimately I’m grateful to have been witness to the rise of the LaMichael James era. It’s a special time for Oregon fans, one that should be savored with every 50-yard run the Texas native breaks off. Players of his caliber don’t come around often, so enjoy it all you can, because before long he’ll be making plays on Sunday.
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