LaMichael James Oregon's First Unanimous All-American

The accolades continue piling up for Oregon running back LaMichael James.

James, the Ducks' redshirt sophomore who won the Doak Walker award as the nation's top running back, became the school's first unanimous All-American with his selection to the Sporting News All-America team on Wednesday.

James led the nation in rushing with 1,682 yards and scored a school-record 21 rushing touchdowns in leading the Ducks to a 12-0 record and a spot in the BCS National Championship game, to be held January 10, 2011 in Glendale, Arizona.

The NCAA formally recognizes five All-America teams, and James is the first Duck chosen to all five in the same season. Before being selected to the Sporting News team, James had been selected an All-American by the Football Writers Association of America, the American Football Coaches Association, the Walter Camp Football Foundation and the Associated Press.

James joins USC's Reggie Bush in 2005 and Stanford's Toby Gerhart in 2009 as the only Pac-10 Conference running backs to be named unanimous All-Americans in the past 30 years.

James played in 11 of the Ducks' 12 regular-season games, having been suspended by head coach Chip Kelly for the season opener following an offseason brush with the law.

James carried the ball 281 times for 1,682 yards, 21 touchdowns and an average of 6.0 yards per carry and 152.9 yards per game. He also caught 13 passes for 169 yards and another touchdown.

James enters the national title game against Auburn with 3,228 rushing yards in two seasons at Oregon, second-best all-time on the school's career list. Derek Loville is the program leader with 3,296 yards over four seasons, meaning James needs 69 yards against the Tigers to establish a new career benchmark.

Sources:
James Becomes UO's First Unanimous All-America, GoDucks.com
2010 Football Almanac, GoDucks.com