At some other schools this might be a ridiculous category but the Ducks have a stellar tradition of backs who excelled as runners, receivers and kick returners, dangerous anytime they touched the ball.
These are not "three yards and a cloud of dust" guys. They are electric, marvelous in the open field.
And their ability to change a game or thrill a crowd deserves special mention, their own mythical Rushmore. Perhaps this one can be erected on Skinner's Butte.
Kenyon Barner
Barner was a great running back in his own right who excelled as a broken field runner and all-purpose warhorse.
He bolted 80 yards for a punt return touchdown against Tennessee in 2010. He returned the second half kickoff for a 100-yard touchdown against UCLA in 2009. In 2012, he ran for 321 yards and five touchdowns against USC, a single-game school record.
Barner was smooth and explosive. He and LaMichael James formed one of the best 1A-1B backfield combinations in college football history.
When LMJ left for the NFL, Barner ran for 1, 767 yards on his own.
De'Anthony Thomas
Thomas was a firework, a firefly, a jitterbug, a dazzling light in a Mason jar. He thrived in big moments and big stages. He made moves so effortless and sensational that they're still replayed 15 years later.
He was smoke through a keyhole, a juke and a flash. He cut full speed and left defenders grasping air.
Ahmad Rashad
As a sophomore (freshman couldn't play then) Rashad had 54 catches for 786 yards and 10 touchdowns as a receiver. In his junior year he moved to running back, ran for 924 yards while catching 45 passes for 455 yards.
As a senior he piled up 1,211 yards rushing in 11 games. For his Oregon career he scored 36 touchdowns running and receiving.
Author of "Tales From the Oregon Duck Sideline" Brian Libby noted that when Bobby Moore/Ahmad Rashad went pro, he was rated No. 1 at receiver and No. 1 at running back on most draft boards.
He went No. 4 overall to St. Louis and made four Pro Bowls as a wide receiver.
Mel Renfro
Renfro might be the greatest athlete in Oregon history, though there have been many good ones. He spent 14 years in the NFL, all with the Dallas Cowboys, enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1996.
At Oregon he earned All-American honors in both track and field and football. On the gridiron he played both ways, running back, returner, receiver and defensive back.
At the NCAA Track Championships in 1962 he finished 2nd in the high hurdles and third in the long jump. He ran a leg on a 440-yard relay team that set a world record of 40 seconds.
He led the Ducks in rushing for three straight seasons, accounting for 20 career touchdowns in an era Oregon didn't score the way they do now.