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08-05-2009, 08:07 AM
The Portland Tribune, Apr 7, 2009, Updated Apr 7, 2009
EUGENE —It's all hope at this point, considering LaMichael James hasn't carried the ball for Oregon yet.
One can only believe coach Chip Kelly when he talks about James, the redshirt freshman from Texarkana, Texas, who Kelly recruited to be the next speedy and elusive back in the Ducks' rushing attack.
Kelly thinks James should compete for carries along with Andre Crenshaw and Remene Alston as the Ducks seek the needed second back to complement LeGarrette Blount in 2009.
"He's an exciting, dynamic player with the ball in his hands," says Kelly, who says James could have played last year, if not for the presence of Jeremiah Johnson. "We expect big things from him."
Some fans talk about James being bigger and just as good as Oregon State's Jacquizz Rodgers, a fellow Texan who only rushed for 1,252 yards and 11 touchdowns as a rookie last season. We'll see.
And the Ducks will have to see how James performs, considering he had offseason shoulder surgery and will be wearing the "don't-touch-LaMichael" red jersey during spring practice, which began this week.
"I hope I can get in the rotation next season and have an impact on the game," James says. "I want us to have the best running-back program in the nation. I hope all of us do well."
Crenshaw is a shifty runner, Alston a smaller but powerful back.
James has clocked 4.38 seconds in the 40-yard dash, and he's the type who beats one defender and is gone.
He loves the Oregon spread offense, because of its option game and blocking schemes that isolate a defender on a running back.
"If I can't beat one person, I don't deserve to play," he says.
James also catches the ball well.
Rodgers hails from Richmond, Texas, outside of Houston. James comes from Texarkana, east of Dallas. James says he had heard about "Quizz" but never knew him, Texas being a pretty big state and all.
But he has heard the comparisons to Rodgers. "He's shifty. I'm shifty, too," James says. "I think highly of Jacquizz."
Rodgers goes 5-7, 195 pounds; James is 5-10, 190 when in shape. Surgery repaired a torn labrum in James' shoulder, and he lost weight, tipping the scale at 183 this week. He would like to play at 190 or 195.
"He's short but not small," says Kelly, addressing the question of whether James could be durable enough to serve as an every-down back.
James rushed for 2,043 yards and 26 yards in his senior season at Liberty-Eylau High, although his team went 5-6. Meanwhile, Rodgers scored 136 career touchdowns for Lamar Consolidated High, which won the 2007 Texas Class 4A title.
James says the Texas Longhorns offered him a scholarship but that the ballyhooed program gives preps a deadline to make a verbal commitment. And, "Texas has like 30 running backs," he says, exaggerating a tad, but getting his point across about competition. "Here, we have four or five."
Besides, "I didn't want to stay in Texas — been there my whole life."
Rewind to 2008, with Blount leaping over tacklers and Masoli leveling the Oklahoma State safety in the Holiday Bowl.
"We can all be different," James says. "Jeremiah can run them over, LeGarrette can jump over them and I'll just run around them."
EUGENE —It's all hope at this point, considering LaMichael James hasn't carried the ball for Oregon yet.
One can only believe coach Chip Kelly when he talks about James, the redshirt freshman from Texarkana, Texas, who Kelly recruited to be the next speedy and elusive back in the Ducks' rushing attack.
Kelly thinks James should compete for carries along with Andre Crenshaw and Remene Alston as the Ducks seek the needed second back to complement LeGarrette Blount in 2009.
"He's an exciting, dynamic player with the ball in his hands," says Kelly, who says James could have played last year, if not for the presence of Jeremiah Johnson. "We expect big things from him."
Some fans talk about James being bigger and just as good as Oregon State's Jacquizz Rodgers, a fellow Texan who only rushed for 1,252 yards and 11 touchdowns as a rookie last season. We'll see.
And the Ducks will have to see how James performs, considering he had offseason shoulder surgery and will be wearing the "don't-touch-LaMichael" red jersey during spring practice, which began this week.
"I hope I can get in the rotation next season and have an impact on the game," James says. "I want us to have the best running-back program in the nation. I hope all of us do well."
Crenshaw is a shifty runner, Alston a smaller but powerful back.
James has clocked 4.38 seconds in the 40-yard dash, and he's the type who beats one defender and is gone.
He loves the Oregon spread offense, because of its option game and blocking schemes that isolate a defender on a running back.
"If I can't beat one person, I don't deserve to play," he says.
James also catches the ball well.
Rodgers hails from Richmond, Texas, outside of Houston. James comes from Texarkana, east of Dallas. James says he had heard about "Quizz" but never knew him, Texas being a pretty big state and all.
But he has heard the comparisons to Rodgers. "He's shifty. I'm shifty, too," James says. "I think highly of Jacquizz."
Rodgers goes 5-7, 195 pounds; James is 5-10, 190 when in shape. Surgery repaired a torn labrum in James' shoulder, and he lost weight, tipping the scale at 183 this week. He would like to play at 190 or 195.
"He's short but not small," says Kelly, addressing the question of whether James could be durable enough to serve as an every-down back.
James rushed for 2,043 yards and 26 yards in his senior season at Liberty-Eylau High, although his team went 5-6. Meanwhile, Rodgers scored 136 career touchdowns for Lamar Consolidated High, which won the 2007 Texas Class 4A title.
James says the Texas Longhorns offered him a scholarship but that the ballyhooed program gives preps a deadline to make a verbal commitment. And, "Texas has like 30 running backs," he says, exaggerating a tad, but getting his point across about competition. "Here, we have four or five."
Besides, "I didn't want to stay in Texas — been there my whole life."
Rewind to 2008, with Blount leaping over tacklers and Masoli leveling the Oklahoma State safety in the Holiday Bowl.
"We can all be different," James says. "Jeremiah can run them over, LeGarrette can jump over them and I'll just run around them."