Come Friday night, Duck fans may get their final opportunity to watch one of the greatest running backs to ever put on an Oregon uniform run wild inside the friendly confines of Autzen Stadium.
There seems little question that redshirt junior LaMichael James will be ready to make the jump to the NFL later this year. Most people wouldn’t have been overly surprised if he’d left a year ago, either.
Around that time, mostly during Oregon’s month-long layoff between the Civil War and the BCS National Championship game, James fielded a lot of questions about whether he would return for his junior season. He admitted he wanted to stay with his teammates to finish what they’d started together years ago.
Well, that season has nearly come and gone. Did it happen as fast for you as it did me?
James leads the nation in rushing (142.7 yards per game)@@http://www.ncaa.com/stats/football/fbs/current/individual/1001@@ for the second-straight season.@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=1550427@@ He’s on track to become the third two-time winner of the Doak Walker Award — joining Ricky Williams of Texas (1997-98) and Arkansas’ Darren McFadden (2006-07)@@http://collegefootball.about.com/od/collegefootballawards/a/award-walker.htm@@ — and if it weren’t for a nagging elbow injury that sidelined him for two games, he’d probably be a Heisman Trophy finalist for the second year in a row, too.
On Monday, James was named the first-team All-Pac-12 running back.@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=3383&SPID=233&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=205339274&DB_OEM_ID=500@@ Yes, for the second-consecutive season, despite missing two conference games (Arizona State and Colorado) that surely would have boosted his already impressive stat sheet, he has once again earned this prestigious award. But he’s never been about statistics, never been about personal awards and has repeatedly said he doesn’t care about the Heisman Trophy. (You’d think a few years down the road he’ll appreciate that one a little more, but that’s beside the point.)
What James has been about is his teammates. I believe he’s genuinely bought into Chip Kelly’s “All about we, not all about me” mantra, and the trickle-down effect has been undeniable. If your best player has such a selfless attitude, why wouldn’t the rest of your roster? It makes sense.
However, I digress from my original thought.
Should Friday night be James’ final home game, he will go down as Oregon’s all-time greatest — both in the record books and the hearts of fans. First, let’s look at the numbers. James has the most career rushing yards (4,704),@@bio: http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=1550427@@ single-game records for rushing (288)@@http://www.addictedtoquack.com/2011/9/24/2447769/lamichael-james-breaks-oregons-single-game-rushing-record-in-56-31@@ and all-purpose yards (363),@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205339649@@ the longest run in Autzen Stadium (90),@@see previous@@ most career 200-yard games (six),@@see previous@@ most career 100-yard games (24),@@see previous@@ rushing touchdowns (49),@@see previous@@ overall touchdowns (54)@@bio@@ and most points in a career (324).@@bio@@
I’ll give you a minute to let that soak in …
Okay, that’s better.
Now, if for some odd reason James returned for his senior season, around this time next year we’ll be listing off Pac-12 records, almost all of which are within a season’s grasp or less.
I obviously have no clue what James will decide to do, and I’m not totally sure he knows at this point, either. The question about leaving for the NFL has risen a few times this season, which James admitted he thinks about quite frequently. But he’s focused on winning the next game right now and will be until January.
We may only get two more opportunities to see James pull on that glorious No. 21 jersey and make opposing defenders look silly, which will make Friday all that more special (at least for the first couple quarters).
Of those 4,704 career yards, 2,543 of them have come at home.@@can’t confirm 🙁@@ That’s more than 141 yards per game over 18 career home appearances and he’s dipped below the century mark just five times.
By now, we all realize just how special a football player LaMichael James has been during his time here. Like you, I hope to see his illustrious career continue, even if it’s just the selfish fan in me.
At least I know I’m not alone in that.
ONE MORE YEAR! ONE MORE YEAR!
Clark: One last go-round for LaMichael James
Daily Emerald
November 28, 2011
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