Before Saturday night's game against No. 17 ASU, Oregon senior running back Terrence Whitehead wasn't often included in talk of the Pac-10 conference's elite players.
Whitehead's performance in No. 25 Oregon's 31-17 victory over ASU brought his name into the discussion.
The Los Angeles native rushed for 122 yards and one touchdown on 21 carries against the Sun Devils, while also catching nine passes for 100 yards and another touchdown.
"I've been trying to do that since I got here," Whitehead said about both receiving and rushing for 100 yards. "I don't get the recognition that everyone else does, but I guess in the long run it will work out when it is time for me to go on to the next level.
"Right now, I'm just having fun. I'm not really worried about that."
Whitehead, who is fourth on Oregon's all-time rushing list with 2,452 yards and seventh in all-purpose yards with 3,679, led the Ducks in rushing the previous two seasons.
Entering Saturday's game, Whitehead had been held to 177 yards on 53 carries and one touchdown so far this season, averaging 44.3 yards per game. His previous rushing high this season was 96 yards in a 37-34 win over Fresno State on Sept. 17.
He sat out Oregon's 44-20 victory over Stanford on Oct. 1 with a groin injury, snapping his string of consecutive starts at 17 and his consecutive appearances mark at 25.
Oregon coach Mike Bellotti said that Whitehead never stopped impressing him.
"Terrence is one of the best football players on our team," Bellotti said. "He's one of the best all-around players in this conference. I think he is probably the most underrated player on our team.
"In the league (games) he's been hurt with a groin strain. But, he's healthy now, and certainly, he has shown what he can do when he is healthy."
Whitehead's first touchdown came on a 6-yard reception from Oregon senior quarterback Kellen Clemens with 9:32 remaining in the second quarter. The extra point tied the game at 10.
His second touchdown came on a 1-yard run with 7:33 remaining in the third quarter, giving the Ducks a 24-10 lead after they succeeded on a two-point conversion attempt.
Bellotti said it was the kind of versatile performance he always expected to get from Whitehead.
"He can play a lot of positions," Bellotti said. "He can run the ball. He can block. He can catch. He makes plays. He makes a 5-yard pass into a 25-yard gain. He can do the same thing with the running game."
Before the game, Whitehead's longest run of the season had been 20 yards. His longest run of the game against the Sun Devils went for 34 yards on Oregon's first offensive play of the fourth quarter.
His longest reception of the game went for 32 yards on the Ducks last possession of the first quarter.
The only negative for Whitehead in the box score was an incomplete pass on his first and only pass attempt so far this season.
On the fourth play of Oregon's second possession of the third quarter, Whitehead took the handoff from Clemens and ran toward the sideline, before turning and throwing well short of his intended receiver, Clemens, on the other side of the field.
Clemens said with everything else Whitehead did, he could overlook the bad pass.
"Terrence is just a great football player," Clemens said. "We've got to work on his throwing just a little bit, but he can do everything. The cut-backs, he's got phenomenal vision. He's just a great guy."
With the 100 yards receiving, Whitehead is now 37 yards short of becoming only the third player in Oregon history to rush and catch for 1,000 yards in a career.
Reach the reporter at jeremy.a.cluff@asu.edu.
