Dan Fouts. Kenny Wheaton. Joey Harrington.
There are so many names when considering a possible Mount Rushmore of Oregon Ducks football players. There are so many student-athletes who have come through Eugene and made their own memorable mark on the program and helped build it to where it is today.
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Some are bound to be left off the list.
It’s almost impossible to decide which four faces would constitute that fictional mountainside. In his fifth year leading the Ducks football program, coach Dan Lanning has had enough time to digest the rich history that is Oregon football, and when asked by The Journey Media what his Mount Rushmore would look like, Lanning was able to come up with four names.
But it wasn’t easy.
“Got to be Marcus,” Lanning said, referring to quarterback Marcus Mariota. “(Defensive lineman) Haloti Ngata. The hard part is when you get to the backs. I mean, De’Anthony (Thomas) probably because of what he did, and how he changed the position.”
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Mariota is the program’s lone Heisman winner for now, and Ngata is in the College Football Hall of Fame. Thomas was one of the more dynamic players in Oregon history.
But coming up with Player 4 wasn’t easy, however.
One would think, as a defensive coach at heart, Lanning would pick a player on that side of the ball as there is a plethora to choose from. But ultimately, the Duck coach went with running back LaMichael James and no one can fault him for that.
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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Dan Lanning unveils his Mount Rushmore of Oregon football players
