Our countdown of the Pac-10's top 25 players concludes.
No. 1. Jacquizz Rodgers, RB, Oregon State
2009 numbers: The 5-foot-7, 188-pound junior ranked third in the conference with 1,440 yards rushing and ranked second with 78 receptions for 522 yards. He also scored 22 touchdowns.
Most recent ranking: Rodgers was ranked fifth in our final Pac-10 top-30 list last year.
Making the case for Rodgers: Rodgers is the only two-time first-team All-Pac-10 player back for the 2010 season and will be on most preseason short lists of Heisman Trophy candidates. He's earned preseason All-American honors from a number of publications and will be a leading candidate for the Doak Walker Award -- he was a semifinalist in 2009 -- which is given annually to the nation's best running back. Rodgers is an outstanding pure runner, his slashing style became a national sensation when he sliced and diced the touted USC defense for 186 yards and two TDs in 2008. But what ultimately distinguishes him -- and lands him atop this list -- is completeness as a player: He can run, catch and block. Heck, he's also passed for a touchdown. He's also durable -- see 24 career starts, including 14 in a row -- and he never fumbles (His one attributed fumble in 640 career touches in last year's Las Vegas Bowl was on a poorly thrown backward pass that wasn't Rodgers fault). He earned conference Offensive Player of the Year honors as a true freshman -- the first player to do that in conference history --- and enters the 2010 season with 2,693 career yards rushing and 32 TDs. (Both totals rank fifth on the Oregon State career list.) He ranked 23rd in the nation with 150.92 all-purpose yards per game in 2009 and his 22 touchdowns ranked second in the conference behind Toby Gerhart, well ahead of any other returning running back. If Rodgers opts to stay all four years and continues his current rate of production, he would finish second all-time in the Pac-10 with 5,386 career rushing yards behind USC's Charles White (6,245).
No. 2. Jake Locker, QB, Washington
No. 3. LaMichael James, RB, Oregon
No. 4. Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford
No. 5. Stephen Paea, DT, Oregon State
No. 6. James Rodgers, WR, Oregon State
No. 7. Rahim Moore, S, UCLA
No. 8. Akeem Ayers, LB, UCLA
No. 9. Mike Mohamed, LB, California
No. 10. Trevin Wade, CB, Arizona
No. 11. Mason Foster, LB, Washington
No. 12. Ricky Elmore, DE, Arizona
No. 13. Kenny Rowe, DE, Oregon
No. 14. Jurrell Casey, DT, USC
No. 15. Cameron Jordan, DE, California
No. 16. Nick Foles, QB, Arizona
No. 17. Vontaze Burfict, LB, Arizona State
No. 18: Colin Baxter, C, Arizona
No. 19: Chase Beeler, C, Stanford
No. 20. Lawrence Guy, DT, Arizona State
No. 21. Matt Barkley, QB, USC
No. 22. Owen Marecic, LB/FB, Stanford
No. 23. Kristofer O'Dowd, C, USC
No. 24: Casey Matthews, LB, Oregon
No. 25 Kai Forbath, K, UCLA