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Oregon football's Jordan James will be one of nation's top RBs in 2024

By Connor Muldowney

Oregon s Jordan James, right, breaks into the open for a big gain against Washington State s Sam Lockett III during the second quarter at Autzen Stadium Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023.
Oregon s Jordan James, right, breaks into the open for a big gain against Washington State s Sam Lockett III during the second quarter at Autzen Stadium Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023. / Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK
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Bucky Irving was the star running back in an offense that put up 44 points per game and 184 rushing yards per game a season ago. He finished his final season with Oregon football with 1,180 yards and 11 touchdowns on 6.3 yards per carry.

But he may not have even been the most efficient running back on the roster.

No, that title was held by sophomore Jordan James. The second-year running back and former top-200 recruit had 759 yards and 11 touchdowns on 7.1 yards per carry. He had as many touchdowns and averaged just 30 fewer rushing yards per game than Irving on 79 fewer carries. That's the kind of production any coach would love from a backup running back.

Now that Irving has moved on to the NFL, however, James is going to have to step his game up to match the production his predecessor put forth last year, maybe with even more efficiency.

James was one of the top running backs in the 2022 recruiting class and chose Oregon over a slew of other elite offers. He finished his true freshman season with 189 yards and five scores and was used sparingly with just 46 touches. He more than double his carries in 2023 and he figures to double them yet again in 2024.

And if James does double his touches with the same efficiency (7.1 yards per carry), he's going to approach 1,600 yards and 22 touchdowns on the year. That would make him a legit Doak Walker Award candidate.

Unfortunately, he's not going to be able to carry the entire load for the run game as Noah Whittington returns after missing most of the 2023 season and he's also one of the top Comeback Player of the Year candidates in college football. With him backing James up, there's a good chance that he has to surrender a good chunk of carries. But that doesn't mean he won't be productive or approach 200 touches.

Look at Irving a year ago. He had James as his backup and he still managed to rush for 1,180 yards and 11 touchdowns on nearly 200 carries. The same will happen with James.

Expect the junior running back to have a monster season, break 1,000 yards easily and contend for the Doak Walker Award as one of the nation's top rushers.

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