Our countdown of the Pac-10's top 25 players continues.
No. 6. James Rodgers, WR, Oregon State
2009 numbers: The 5-foot-7, 188-pound senior ranked seventh in the nation and No. 1 in the Pac-10 in all-purpose yards with 179.1 yards per game. He led the Pac-10 with 1,034 yards receiving and 91 receptions with nine touchdowns. He also rushed for 346 yards and ranked third in the conference with an average of 11.6 yards per punt return.
Most recent ranking: Rodgers was ranked ninth in our final Pac-10 top-30 list last year.
Making the case for Rodgers: Despite his size, Rodgers, a Beavers co-captain, is the best returning receiver in the conference. But just mentioning that he was first-team All-Pac-10 at the position in 2009 does not sufficiently tell his story. Simply, Rodgers is an offensive weapon who can stress a defense in myriad ways as a runner, receiver or return man. As a freshman and sophomore -- Rodgers has started 27 career games -- he was a fly sweep specialist. Last year, he became an elite receiver. His 91 receptions broke the school single-season record and he enters 2010 with 161 career receptions, which presently ranks third all-time at Oregon State and is just 60 short of the school record held by 2005 Biletnikoff Award recipient Mike Hass (2002-05) at 220. His 1,849 career receiving yards ranks sixth on the school list; his 14 career receiving touchdowns is tied for seventh; and his six career 100-yard-plus receiving games is tied for sixth. Phil Steele named him a preseason third-team All-American and he was first-team for NationalChamps.net.
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