LaMichael Keondrae "LaMike" James (born October 22, 1989) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Oregon Ducks The Oregon Ducks are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Oregon, located in Eugene, Oregon, Eugene. The Ducks compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCA ...

and was selected by the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

in the second round of the

2012 NFL draft The 2012 NFL draft was the 77th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players for their rosters. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held ...

. James also played for the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

. The 2010 season was a breakout one for James, as he rushed for 1,731 yards, the highest in the nation. He finished third in balloting for the

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy ( ; also known simply as the Heisman) is awarded annually since 1935 to the top player in college football. It is considered the most prestigious award in the sport and is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust followin ...

that year and received the

Doak Walker Award The Doak Walker Award honors the top running back in college football in the United States. Established in 1990, it is named in honor of Doak Walker, a former running back who played for the SMU Mustangs from 1945 to 1949 and in the National Foot ...

. In 2011, James became Oregon's career rushing leader and rushed for a school-record 1,805 yards. He was considered to be one of the top running backs throughout his college career, with his 5,082 total rushing yards placing him second in

Pac-12 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level for all sports, and its Co ...

history and 14th in

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

history.

Early life

James attended Liberty-Eylau High School in

Texarkana, Texas Texarkana is a city in Bowie County, Texas, United States, in the Ark-La-Tex region. Located approximately from Dallas, Texarkana is a twin cities, twin city with neighboring Texarkana, Arkansas. The Texas city's population was 36,193 at the 2 ...

, where he played running back. As a sophomore, James had 76 carries for 643 yards and 10 touchdowns. In his junior season, James had 229 carries for 1,600 yards and 16 touchdowns to go along with 33 receptions for 500 yards and three touchdowns. James continued his dominance during his senior campaign to the tune of 2,043 yards and 24 touchdowns on 230 touches, averaging 8.9 yards per carry. Considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, James was listed as the No. 12 all-purpose back in the nation in 2008.

College career

2009 season

James attended the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

, where he played for coach

Chip Kelly Charles Edward Kelly (born November 25, 1963) is an American professional American football, football coach who is the offensive coordinator for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He came to prominence as a college foo ...

Oregon Ducks football The Oregon Ducks football program is a college football team for the University of Oregon, located in the U.S. state of Oregon. The team competes at the NCAA Division I level in the Football Bowl Subdivision, FBS and is a member of the Big Ten Co ...

team from 2009 to 2011. After the suspension of LeGarrette Blount, James became the starting running back for the Ducks in

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

. He helped the Ducks to upset victories over

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

and

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

with 152 and 118 rushing yards, respectively. James again rushed for over 100 yards on October 10 against

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

with 152 yards on 20 carries. Once again, James eclipsed the 100 yard mark with 154 yards rushing on 15 carries against

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

on October 24, and on October 31 with 183 yards to upset then #5

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

. He led all BCS-conference running backs with 6.9 yards per carry. On December 7, 2009, James was named Pac-10 Offensive Freshman of the Year.

2010 season

On March 9, 2010, head coach

announced that James would be suspended for the season opening game of the 2010 season, following his guilty plea for physical harassment against his former girlfriend. Against Portland State, James rushed for 227 yards on 14 carries and scored two touchdowns in a 69–0 shutout win, the Ducks' second shutout on the year. The next week, against Arizona State, James was held to only 94 rushing yards, but the total was enough to move James past the 2,000 yard mark for his career. Against the

Arizona Wildcats The Arizona Wildcats are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of Arizona, located in Tucson, Arizona, Tucson. The Wildcats compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Divis ...

, James rushed for 126 yards, 2 touchdowns and surpassed LeGarrette Blount's single season scoring record. James had a season high against the Stanford Cardinal by garnering 3 touchdowns, and 257 yards on 31 rushes. Over the course of the season, James had eclipsed the century mark 9 times, only failing to reach 100 yards twice. All in all James has had 18 100+ rushing yard games in his career, a record at the University of Oregon. Despite missing the first game of the 2010 season due to suspension, James managed to break the Pac-10 all-time sophomore single season rushing record and led the country in both rushing yards (1,682) and touchdowns (22), ultimately earning a trip to the annual Heisman Ceremony in New York as a finalist. Following the 2010 season, James received the Doak Walker award, given to best running back in the country, and was recognized as a unanimous first-team All-American. He was also a Pac-12 All-Academic selection. The Ducks finished regular season play undefeated (12-0) and ranked No. 2 in both the BCS and the AP poll. They played the top-ranked Auburn Tigers in the

2011 BCS National Championship Game The 2011 BCS National Championship Game (branded as the 2011 Tostitos BCS National Championship Game for sponsorship reasons) was a college football bowl game to determine the national champion of the 2010 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivisi ...

in Glendale, Arizona. In that game, James had two touchdown receptions, including one that set up the game-tying two-point conversion. Nevertheless, James' season ended with disappointment when Auburn kicked a game-winning field goal as time expired for a 22–19 victory.

2011 season

In the first game of the 2011 season against

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

, James became Oregon's career rushing leader, surpassing the mark previously set by Derek Loville. In the third game of the season against Missouri State, James ran for 204 yards and three touchdowns, which was his fourth career 200+ yard rushing game. On September 24 in a game against Arizona, James rushed for an Oregon single game record of 288 yards on 24 carries. On October 6, 2011, in a game against California, James fell awkwardly on his right arm and left with an air cast. After the game, it was announced that X-rays were negative for a break and that James had suffered a dislocated elbow but popped it back into place before leaving the field. During the post game interview James' health for the next game came into question. James' response to questions about his health was: "I could tear all of my ACLs and I'll still play." On December 2, 2011, James won the

Pac-12 Championship Game The Pac-12 Football Championship Game was an annual college football game held by the Pac-12 Conference to determine the season's conference champion. The game from the 2011–2021 seasons had the champion of the North Division against the cham ...

MVP, while rushing for 3 touchdowns. On January 2, 2012, James rushed for 159 yards on 25 carries with one touchdown to help Oregon beat Wisconsin 45–38 in the Rose Bowl. In an interview with John Canzano of ''

The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the West Coast of the United States, U.S. West Coast, founded as a weekly by Tho ...

'', James said of former Oregon Running Back coach Garry Campbell, "He’s authentic. When you have somebody that authentic, he’s not always going to tell you what you want to hear but he’s going to tell you what you need to hear...he’s a wonderful man on and off the field".

College statistics

Track and field

James ran track while still in high school, winning the 2006 Texas 100-meter championship in 10.51 seconds. He was also the state runner-up in the 4x100 meter (42.28) and 4x400 meter (3:23.31) relay teams. James was also a track & field star at the

. Despite limited workouts with school's track team, he placed 5th in the 2010 Pac-10 championships at the

100 meters The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...

, posting a personal-best time of 10.50 seconds in the semifinals. James anchored 4x100 relay to 4th place and ran a personal-best time of 6.77 seconds in the

60 meters 60 metres, or 60-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field. It is a championship event for indoor championships, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At indoor events, the 60 metres is run on lanes set out in the mi ...

at the 2010 Washington Husky Invitational, placing third in the finals.

Professional career

San Francisco 49ers

James was selected in the second round with the 61st overall pick by the

in the

. During his rookie season, James played in his first career regular-season game against the

in Week 14. James finished the 27–13 victory with eight carries for 30 yards along with a 15-yard reception. In the next game against the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

, he had eight carries for 31 yards along with a 62-yard kickoff return after the Patriots had completed a 28-point comeback to tie the game 31–31, leading to a touchdown the next play for the 49ers. The 49ers won the game on the road by a score of 41–34. In the NFC Championship Game against the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

, James rushed five times for 34 yards and scored his first NFL touchdown on a 15-yard rush as the 49ers won on the road by a score of 28–24 and reached

Super Bowl XLVII Super Bowl XLVII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Baltimore Ravens and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champio ...

. In the game, James rushed three times for 10 yards but lost a fumble as the 49ers narrowly lost to the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

by a score of 34–31.

Miami Dolphins

James was signed to the

practice squad on September 30, 2014. He was promoted to the active roster on November 10, 2014, after a season-ending injury to left tackle Branden Albert. James was re-signed by the Dolphins on March 20, 2015. Prior to the 2015 season, he informed the media that he preferred to be addressed as "LaMike", stating his friends, family and teammates have always called him that. James was waived by the Dolphins on September 14, 2015.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Postseason

Awards and honors

* 2010

finalist (3rd) * 2010 Premier Player of College Football Trophy finalist (3rd) * 2010 AFCA All-American * 2010 First-team AP All-American * 2010 FWAA All-American * 2010 WCFF All-American * 2010 First-team All-

Pac-10 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level for all sports, and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl ...

* 2010 Pac-10 First-team All-Academic * 2009 CFPA National Freshman Performer of the Year * 2009 Pac-10 Offensive Freshman of the Year * 2009 Sporting News Third-team All-American * 2009 AP Third-team All-American * 2009 Rivals.com Second-team All-MLG team * Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Week, twice (October 31, 2009,

Personal life

James was born in

New Boston, Texas New Boston is a city in Bowie County, Texas, United States. Boston was named for an early storekeeper in the settlement, W.J. Boston. The coming of the railroads led to the location of two more Bostons. A depot was built approximately four mile ...

to Rosemary James.National Football League, Current Players
LaMichael James
Retrieved June 23, 2012. He was raised by his maternal grandmother, Betty James, in

. She died of cancer when James was 17 years old, so he had to live by himself during his junior and senior years of high school.

Post-football life

James turned himself into a restaurant franchise owner after his NFL playing days ended. As of 2024, James owned three Killer Burger stores in the state of Oregon, one located in Beaverton, one in

Lake Oswego Lake Oswego ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon, primarily in Clackamas County, Oregon, Clackamas County, with small portions extending into neighboring Multnomah County, Oregon, Multnomah and Washington County, Oregon, Washington counties ...

, and the newest in the same city as his alma mater, Eugene.

References

External links

*
Oregon Ducks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:James, LaMichael 1989 births Living people All-American college football players American football running backs Oregon Ducks football players Players of American football from Texarkana, Texas San Francisco 49ers players Miami Dolphins players People from New Boston, Texas Oregon Ducks men's track and field athletes Businesspeople from Oregon American restaurateurs College Football Hall of Fame inductees