Tales from the stat sheet: Did LaMichael James peak at 20?

According to an article by Chris Huston of  The Heisman Pundit, LaMichael James “has become a shadow of the darting, nimble, explosive player he once was.” He cites LMJ’s weight gain and seeming tentativeness in the LSU game as signs James is no longer the elite back who earned the Doak Walker Award and an invitation to New York last season. Huston points out that since Oregon’s all-time rushing leader busted loose for 239 yards in game 7 against the Trojans, “he has averaged just 95 yards and 4.0 yards per carry.”

James himself was visibly frustrated after the LSU game, vowing to “run the way I want to” for the rest of the season.

photo at left: Oregon’s all-time rushing leader, blowing by the Oregon State defense as a redshirt freshman. (courtesy zimbio.com)

Was it a mistake for LaMichael to add bulk? Has he lost a step? Here are the game logs from those last six games (statistics from espn.com):

But take a look at these two video samples, courtesy of Mike Wines of Oregon Duck Soup and the You Tube Channel Mad Mike 1951. The first is video highlights from James’ redshirt freshman season, 2009, followed by video of his running versus LSU last Saturday:There are three big factors here. One, James was hampered by a lower leg injury in the last half of last season. Two, teams massed to stop him after 200-yard games against Stanford and USC. And three, the Ducks faced three big, physical defensive fronts at Cal, versus Auburn and in Dallas against LSU. In each of those games, the defensive front seven outplayed Oregon’s line, and running lanes were scarce.

And here’s James and the Ducks versus LSU:

LaMichael James hasn’t forgotten how to run. He’s the greatest running back in Oregon history, scoring 21 touchdowns last year. If he stays healthy this season he’ll shatter every rushing record in the Duck media guide, except possibly the single-game mark (he’d likely be spelled by Barner, Thomas and Carson before racking up enough touches). But what is noticeable is that looking back to that first season, James was more creative and spontaneous as a runner. He had more of the insane video game elusiveness, pulling off dazzling individual plays like the double spin move at his own goal line against UCLA. James had more “created runs” as a younger player. He’s still tremendous, he still has the same courage and determination, but in his third season, he’s lost a little of the joy and creativity, the fun he had playing football.

You can’t help but wonder if the burdens of the spotlight, the Will Lyles incident and the unfortunate arrest and suspension a year ago have made him more guarded and serious in his approach to football. The extra muscle isn’t weighing him down; his 40 and 100-meter times prove that. Instead, there’s a heaviness in his spirit.

On Saturday, LaMichael James needs to get back to being LaMichael James. He doesn’t have anything to prove to the Heisman Pundit, the fans at Autzen or anyone else. Football is a game, and it’s best played with joy and vengeance. James has both, and the surest bet is that the remainder of his 2011 performances will lay waste to the idle questions. He runs for his teammates and the memory of his grandmother. He’ll get back to trusting his speed and making people miss.