As I flipped between yet another college basketball game bereft of scoring and the NFL’s excuse for “Thursday Night Football” (Browns-Steelers, anyone?), I stumbled upon ESPN’s annual College Football Awards show. Like most programs on the WorldWide Leader, it’s a bloated affair that could probably be cut down by about 45 minutes (starting with the totally unnecessary red carpet portion). But it’s always worth tuning in for a few minutes, especially when Oregon players are involved and the only other option is watching Harvard and UConn players struggle to grasp the fundamentals of basketball.
This year, two Ducks were involved in the ceremony, but just one was in the building. Jackson Rice, everyone’s favorite seldom-used punter, was there as a finalist for the Ray Guy Award (given to the nation’s best punter). LaMichael James, meanwhile, had been nominated for the Doak Walker Award for the second straight year — he won it last season — but appeared to be missing in action.
I kept tuning back in, hoping that maybe they’d just been ignoring him in favor of the newer faces like Trent Richardson and Montee Ball. But James never showed up, and when the the Doak Walker Award was finally announced near the close of the ceremony — complete with the picture-in-picture effect of the nominees smiling awkwardly and waiting for their name to be called — there was only a still photo of James sitting in between Richardson and Ball.
It was a little disappointing, mostly because I enjoy watching these guys have a little fun and get some deserved recognition. But James has never been about the personal awards, and he got more than his money’s worth of adoration last year as a Heisman finalist. Besides, it’s finals week. More important things are at hand.
What I ultimately took away from all of this, though, is that James’ time in the limelight is almost over — at least at the college level. That grinning still photo of him in between the college football’s latest darlings felt like a changing of the guard. The young kids could have the limelight — James had finals to take and a BCS Bowl to prepare for, likely his last as a collegiate athlete. A little bit sad, yes, but that moment last night also provided a perfect excuse to look back on some of James’ best moments as an Oregon Duck:
Sept. 11, 2010: 72-yard run in 48-13 win at Tennessee

This is just so quintessentially LaMichael James. Darts right — nothing. Stumbles, and it looks like a wasted play. But then he recovers, hits the corner and — with the help of some truly awful tackling on Tennessee’s part — finds the end zone. Notice the play-by-play guy chuckling in the background as James dives into the end zone. How else do you respond to a play like that? That was just the first in a series of spectacular moments that would define the 2010 season.
Oct. 2, 2010: 76-yard run to cap off 52-32 victory over No. 9 Stanford

(*Hit the 5:58 mark for the run)
I’ll always remember being on the field for this play, looking up and watching James go sailing past my eyes, not a defender in sight. They play this clip on the scoreboard before every home game now, with Jerry Allen’s “Statement! Statement! Statement!” call. And that’s exactly what it was.
Oct. 6, 2011: Press conference after elbow injury against California

Not a run, obviously — not even a catch or a punt return. It might seem quizzical to include press conference footage in this post, but this was truly one of my favorite LaMichael James moments. Even after that disgusting arm injury, he was almost freakishly upbeat, cracking smiles and showing a deadpan sense of humor that most of us rarely see. When a reporter asked, “How will you go about treatment?” and he responded, without missing a beat, “Talk to the media,” the whole room broke up in laughter. It might seem inconsequential, and maybe it was, but I couldn’t help feeling like that performance at the podium was an elixir for a group of teammates and coaches who seemed visibly shaken by the events of that night. If James could smile and laugh it off, why couldn’t they? And that’s what makes a great leader.
Nov. 13, 2010: Bruising run in fourth quarter of narrow 15-13 victory at California

(*Hit the 4:14 mark for the run)
This whole video is worth watching if you have the time, but we’d be remiss without including at least one truck-stick highlight. That physicality, after all, is part of what makes James so unique. Just look at how he lowers his head and demolishes that Cal defensive back. Out of everything, this might be what I miss the most when James takes his talents to the NFL.
TBD

Of course, this post has to close with the unknown. There’s at least one game left for James to add to his highlight reel, and I have a feeling we’ll have yet another play to remember come Jan. 3.
Until then, there’s plenty to appreciate on YouTube.