■ SPORTS EXTRA FOOTBALL i Falling down: The Ducks hope to trip-up ‘ Kaufman this year. Chris Metz Oogwi Pai>y t merakf The University of Washington's Napoleon Kaufman is perhaps a defensive coach's worst night mare Measuring a fill short of the ideal size for a star running back (5-9,185), Kaufman's play is no small offair. KAUFMAN ■ THE RECORDS: No 1 In all-pur pose funning and rushing at Washington ■ THE SEASON: Second In the nation in rushing Second in all-pur pose yards ■ THE COUNT DOWN; 345 rush ing yards to become 40th play er in NCAA history to rush tor 4 000 yards In a career 296 rushing yards needed to set sin gle season record 157 all purpose yards to move into tilth place on l'ac-10 career list i no thing about Napoleon Kaufman in ho can go all the way In a heartbeat.” C )rwgon defensive coordina tor No k Aliotti said. "It's going to be a hack of a challenge for our defense." Kaufman has three times boon named l’ut.ifli-10 offensive player of the week this sea son, large ly on his ahiliK this season to break away for the long touch down He has had tour cm too live longest rushing tone hdowns in the I'm H) this s» 1,1 son with a 78-yard scamper, two 7Ytrnutk) view last week's 80-yard effort as a major setback for the senior tailback from Lompoc. Calif. Kaufman downplays the hype and concentrates on just MVf PA$i*r fVwwaiu The Ducks were unable to cor ral Kaufman last season as he ran for 142 yards and two touchdowns, including a 58 yard dash. going out and playing his game. "I think it's kind of what you make it." Kaufman said of the Heisman hype. "1 mean there's so many guys up for the run ning right now in the Heisman race It's kind of hard to think about it much.” The 1994 season has seen Kaufman improve in nil facets of his game. Ho needs just 295 yards to eclipse last year's mark and has scon improvement in receiving, punt returns and kick returns. All this comes as no surprise to Oregon head coach Rich Brooks, who has witnessed . i, > u i. i,, 1 he thing about Napoleon Kauf man is he can go all the way in a heartbeat — N ick Aliotti 0>fy»iiHinteiTOr#MK> Kaufman's accent to greatness since he was a freshman. "He’s a lot more physical now than when he first came into the league." Brooks said. "He's much stronger now. He now has the physical strength to pound into linebackers. He takes the fight to the tacklers." The Washington tailback believes that his increased pro ductivity and output has been affected not only his increased strength over his time in Seattle, but also a better mental approach to the game. "I feel like I'm making some pretty good decisions running the ball and blocking," Kaufman said. "Every game 1 feel like I'm blocking a little bit better." Kaufman has been selected to the AII-Pac-10 team twice and earned All-American honors last year. Both seem likely once again this season as Kaufman hasn't disappointed. The Huskies have rallied around his success and have been one of the best teams in the nation this season. The ninth-ranked Huskies can not go on to postseason play but. according to Kaufman, the team is confident and ready to play each week. "1 think it has a lot to do with attitude." Kaufman said. “There's a lot more commit ment this year." Kaufman gained 142 yards in the 1993 battle between Oregon and Washington, and Brooks admires Kaufman’s style of run ning but doesn't look forward to defending against it "I’ve enjoyed watching him on film," Brooks said. "I'm just disappointed that I'll have to watch him from the sideline trying to stop him." The trend these days for star college players has been to opt out early and join the ranks of the NFL. but Kaufman came back for his senior year, adding that it wasn't a very difficult choice. "I just wasn't ready to go on to that yet." he said "I'm hav ing a great time in college, and I'm happy I stayed." No doubt the Huskies are too as Kaufman has helped them to a 5-1 record and powered them to a 211 yards a game average "He's the real deal." Brooks said. "He’s fast, he’s tough."