Cause For Hope: Introducing LaMichael James

While the constant turnover of college football players can be frustrating, it’s also part of the excitement. Each year brings a wave of new potential stars. In that respect, 2009 has always been about LaMichael James. From his recruitment on through his redshirt season, up until now, I’ve been convinced he would shine when his opportunity came.

I thought one of the biggest mistakes against Boise was the lack of touches for James. You saw the flashes when he got the ball. He’s fast and tough to tackle. He’s a guy that can step up and hit home runs, turn a 2 yard loss into a 2 yard gain and needs just a sliver of an opening to spring a big play.

Some might say Oregon’s offensive line needs to get better for the running game to work. To an extent, that’s true, but they also were made to look much worse due to factors like poor play-calling and worse execution.

We saw too much of LeGarrette Blount moving side to side when he got the ball. If you expect Blount’s skill set to provide anything other than a loss on a play like that, you probably thought he’d whisper sweet nothings into Byron Hout’s ear. Masoli didn’t help matters either. He handed off when he should have been running and kept the ball when he should have been letting it go.

Even if none of that were true and you laid the running game’s woes entirely on the offensive line, James is the type of player that could transcend the play up front. His speed and elusiveness could give a young offensive line a little room for error while it builds cohesiveness.

James should get no less than 15 touches Saturday and I’d even advocate for 20. If he can’t get the openings he needs running the ball, find other ways to get it done. If Kelly isn’t comfortable giving James that kind of load yet, he better get comfortable. This is the guy now. This is the star of your backfield even if his career line reads 2 carries for 22 yards.

And this isn’t just about immediate results, but the entire season. When Cal and USC come to Autzen later this year, he needs to be ready or Oregon can forget about challenging for the Pac-10 title. It’s time to give James the ball and see what he has.

You might say I’m putting too much pressure on the redshirt freshman or that my opinion of his considerable talents is hindered by a lack of viewable evidence. I don’t think so. If you read enough reports from a variety of sources, look at his high school credentials and listen to the coaches’ praise for his performance on the scout team a year ago, you get a feel that James is special, a guy just waiting to prove it to us all. Give him time and he’ll provide all the evidence we need.