Ducks' James Joins Select Group

They called him "The Dutchman," and Oregon football fans who know their history might argue that he was the greatest quarterback to ever suit up for the Ducks.

Norm Van Brocklin was as good at punting as he was at passing, and he led the Pacific Coast Conference in both categories during his first season with the Ducks, in 1947.

The following year, his last at Oregon, Van Brocklin again paced the conference in passing, with 1,010 yards, earning All-America status and leading Oregon to its first bowl game appearance in 29 years.

Van Brocklin and the Ducks fell 21-13 in the Cotton Bowl, held on New Year's Day of 1949, to an SMU team that featured a talented halfback named Doak Walker.

Walker ran for 66 yards and a touchdown and completed 6-of-10 passes for 79 more yards to lead the Mustangs and dash the Ducks' hopes for their first bowl victory since 1917. He shared the Cotton Bowl MVP award with Van Brocklin.

It's an interesting bit of history that helps illuminate the present of Oregon football.

Because on December 9, 2010, Ducks sophomore LaMichael James was named recipient of the Doak Walker Award as the nation's best running back, the single biggest individual honor bestowed upon any player in Oregon history.

That same day, James earned consensus All-America status, something not even Van Brocklin achieved during his days with the Ducks.

In fact, only three others in Oregon history have earned consensus All-America status (the Oregon sports information department originally said James was the fourth consensus All-American in school history, but confirmed to Wired Oregon that there were, indeed, only three).

James joined an even more exclusive club at Oregon when he was named a Heisman Trophy finalist. He finished third in the Heisman voting, behind Auburn quarterback Cam Newton and Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, becoming just the fifth player in UO history to finish in the top 10 in Heisman voting.

Here's a look at the company James now finds himself in:

Oregon's Heisman Trophy finalists

Joey Harrington, 2001: Harrington was Oregon's first official Heisman Trophy finalist, and he finished fourth in the voting. A second-team All-American, Harrington was named Pac-10 Conference offensive player of the year as a senior, when he led the Ducks to a Fiesta Bowl victory and a No. 2 ranking in the Top 25 polls. Over his Oregon career, Harrington went 25-3 as a starter, and threw for 6,911 yards and 59 touchdown passes against 23 interceptions while completing 55.2 percent of his passes. Nebraska quarterback Eric Crouch won the 2001 Heisman Trophy.

Oregon's Top 10 Heisman Trophy Vote-Getters

Jay Graybeal, 1939: Graybeal was a talented Duck whose primary position was halfback but who filled a variety of spots on the field, including placekicker, punter, receiver, quarterback, kick returner and defensive back. As a senior in 1939, the Pendleton native was named first-team all-Pacific Coast Conference, honorable mention All-American and finished ninth in the Heisman Trophy voting. Iowa halfback Nile Kinnick won the 1939 Heisman.

Norm Van Brocklin, 1948: One of Oregon's greatest all-time quarterbacks, Van Brocklin went 16-5 in his two-year Oregon career, leading the Ducks to a bowl game for the first time in 29 years and receiving All-America honors in 1948, when he finished sixth in the Heisman Trophy voting. SMU hallfback Doak Walker received the Heisman Trophy in 1948.

George Shaw, 1954: Shaw was an All-American in both football and baseball for the Ducks who finished eighth in the Heisman voting as a senior, when he set the Oregon single-season record for passing yards at 1,358 and established the Pacific Coast Conference record for total offense at 1,536 yards. Shaw also played defense, and his 18 career interceptions remain a school record, as does his single-season mark of 11 interceptions, set in 1951. Wisconsin fullback Alan Ameche won the 1954 Heisman.

Dennis Dixon, 2007: Dixon was the Heisman Trophy front-runner during his senior season of 2007 before a knee injury ended the quarterback's season and the Ducks' hopes for a national championship. Though not a finalist for the award, Dixon finished fifth in Heisman voting and was a unanimous choice as Pac-10 Conference offensive player of the year. Florida quarterback Tim Tebow won the 2007 Heisman.

Oregon's consensus All-Americans

Mel Renfro, 1962: Before he was an NFL Hall of Famer for the Dallas Cowboys, Renfro was a two-sport star at the University of Oregon who was named an All-American in both football and track and field in 1962. The halfback from Portland's Jefferson High School rushed for 1,540 yards during his career with the Ducks before a 14-year NFL career that saw Renfro make Pro Bowl appearances in each of his first 10 seasons in the league.

Haloti Ngata, 2005: The most dominant defensive lineman in UO history and one of the program's best-ever defensive players, Ngata won the Morris Trophy as the Pac-10 Conference's best defensive lineman in 2005, the same year he was named a consensus All-American and a finalist for the Outland Trophy, given to the nation's best interior lineman, and the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, given to the nation's top defensive player. Ngata had 61 tackles that season and finished his UO career with a school-record seven blocked kicks. Ngata was selected 12th overall in the 2005 NFL draft by the Baltimore Ravens.

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Originally published on Wired Oregon