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2010 Heisman Hopeful Countdown: No. 10 Oregon RB LaMichael James
As part of BCS Know How’s 2010 season preview, we will be breaking down our ten favorite Heisman hopefuls to get you ready for this season’s edition of the Heisman Watch.
We begin with our No. 10, Oregon redshirt sophomore running back LaMichael James.
A redshirt freshman ready to play second fiddle in the Ducks’ backfield behind highly touted running back LeGarrette Blount, LaMichael James was thrown rather unceremoniously into the No. 1 slot after Blount was suspended for the season by Ducks coach Chip Kelly.
But boy did James respond.
The Texas-native speedster did more than fill in for the beleaguered Blount — rushing for 1,546 yards and 14 touchdowns — and helped the Ducks capture their first Rose Bowl bid since 1995.
Named to three All-American teams and honored as the Pac-10′s Offensive Freshman of the Year, James also led all BCS-conference backs with an average of 6.9 yards per carry.
James’ unexpected leap into the national spotlight moved his expectations for the 2010 into the stratosphere and creating legitimate Heisman buzz in Eugene for this years’ campaign. His output will be especially important to the Ducks’ offense in the 2010 season, as they try to cope with the transfer of quarterback Jeremiah Masoli to Ole Miss.
Unfortunately for James and the Ducks, the running back’s run in with the law during this past offseason will cause him to miss the Ducks’ opener against New Mexico — a team he probably could have run all over — which will likely hurt his chances both statistically and reputation-wise with Heisman voters.
James will get the chance to make up for the lost time during the Ducks’ Pac-10 schedule, which was especially kind to the young back in 2009.
James took to Pac-10 opponents like an experienced rusher, picking apart the west coasts’ best defenses to the tune of seven-straight Pac-10 games with 100-plus rushing yards.
Against USC on Halloween night James was an especially scary threat, rushing for 183 yards and a touchdown in the Ducks’ man-handling of the Trojans and was named the Pac-10′s Offensive Player of the Week for that performance.
Bottom Line: James’ Heisman hopes will likely rest on how well the Ducks can perform without Masoli and the ability of James to match and even improve upon his 2009 output. His Heisman hopes are certainly hurt by his legal troubles, and will need to prove that the mess is behind him and be a stand-up teammate for a Ducks team that is struggling to keep its reputation high.
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2010 Heisman Hopeful Countdown: No. 9 Georgia WR A.J. Green →
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