Oregon Ducks' Consensus All-Americans

On December 9, 2010, Oregon running back LaMichael James was selected for the Walter Camp Football Foundation All-America team, placing him in rare company among the all-time greats at Oregon.

While the Ducks have seen their share of award-winning football stars, James - the 2010 Doak Walker Award winner - became just the fourth player in school history to be named a consensus All-American.

To achieve such status, a player must be named to at least two of the five All-America teams recognized by the NCAA - the American Football Coaches Association All-America team, for which James had been previously selected, the Walter Camp Foundation team, and All-America teams chosen by the Associated Press, the Football Writers Association of America and the Sporting News. Being named to two of the five teams is a minimum requirement but does not guarantee consensus status; the NCAA hands out the official "consensus" designation at the end of the season.

James' selection as a consensus All-American is no surprise. In 11 regular-season games - James was suspended for the Ducks' season opener - he rushed for 1,682 yards and a school-record 21 touchdowns, averaging 152.9 yards per game and turning in more than his share of highlight-reel runs in leading the Ducks to a spot in the BCS National Championship game against Auburn on January 10, 2011 in Glendale, Arizona.

Perhaps a bit more surprising is the fact that only two other Ducks in school history achieved consensus All-American status (the university originally said there were three others, but changed it to two when sports information director Dave Williford discovered that cornerback Alex Molden was not a consensus All-American in 1995; the Pac-10 Conference media guide erroneously lists him as such). Oregon boasts some fairly high-profile alums, including quarterbacks Norm Van Brocklin, George Shaw and Bob Berry, and running backs Bobby Moore (Ahmad Rashad) and Jonathan Stewart, each of whom was named to an All-America team but did not receive consensus All-America status.

Here are the other two, besides James, who did:

Mel Renfro, halfback, 1962

Renfro was a two-sport All-American at Oregon, earning consensus status in football as a junior and also receiving All-America status in track and field after finishing second in the 120-yard high hurdles at the 1962 NCAA meet. Renfro rushed for 1,540 yards and accounted for 141 points during his Oregon football career, and during his consensus All-American season of 1962, he topped 100 yards rushing twice, turning in 141 on 13 carries against Rice and 120 on eight carries against Utah. A member of the College Football Hall of Fame, Renfro went on to an NFL Hall of Fame career with the Dallas Cowboys, and was named to the Pro Bowl each of his first 10 seasons in the league.

Haloti Ngata, defensive tackle, 2005

Perhaps the greatest defensive player in Oregon history, and certainly the most dominant defensive linemen the Ducks have had, Ngata was named Pac-10 Conference co-defensive player of the year in 2005 and received the Morris Trophy, which honors the conference's top defensive lineman. Ngata was also a finalist for the Outland Trophy - awarded to the nation's top interior lineman - and one of the five finalists for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy - given to the nation's outstanding defensive player. Ngata was named team MVP as a senior, when he had 61 tackles, including 14 - 11 solo, three assisted - against California on November 5, 2005. He finished his career with a school-record seven blocked kicks and was the 12th overall pick in the 2005 NFL draft by the Baltimore Ravens.

Sources:
James Becomes UO's Fourth Consensus All-American, GoDucks.com
2010 Football Almanac, History, GoDucks.com