EUGENE – Oregon’s junior running back Royce Freeman was chosen for Sports Illustrated’s preseason All-American second team, the publication announced on Tuesday.

Freeman led the Ducks in rushing as a sophomore in 2015 with 1,836 yards and 17 touchdowns. He added 348 receiving yards and two touchdowns to average 141.2 yards per game for the Ducks. Freeman’s rushing totals broke LaMichael Jame’s single-season school record and he enters the 2016 only 1,881 yards away from breaking James’s career rushing record at Oregon.

Freeman was a first team All-Conference running back in the Pac-12 last year and has already been named to the Doak Walker Award watch list for 2016. He was a semifinalist for the Walker Award, given to the nation’s top running back, last season, but did not make the cut for the finalists list.

Oregon begins the season on September 3 in Eugene against UC Davis.