October 11, 2009

Sunshine State produces another Ram

For the James family, the chance to reunite in Colorado may have been too much to pass up. Or, the opportunity to play in a pro-style offense under a college coach who has the National Football League peppered all over his resume. Whatever it was, it was enough to get Josh James to commit to play football for the Colorado State Rams starting this spring.

"Yeah he did (commit to CSU)," James' father, Daniel said Sunday. "It is big for me, now I have both of my sons at the same school."

Josh, who also goes by Jay, is a 6-foot-3, 211-pound wide receiver who carries a 4.5 time in the 40-yard dash and claims a vertical leap of 44 inches. James has transferred high schools twice in the last two years, including a transfer to Jones High School in Orlando last week, which have kept his on-field production down. The latest move was a chance to get Jay into the same high school as his mother, Venessa, who is an English teacher. Daniel said his paperwork is in and he should be eligible to play for Jones High School this week. He is also still on track to graduate high school at semester, which would allow him to get into Fort Collins for spring practice.

That is the recipe Daniel's other son, Christian James, took a year ago and it has translated into early playing time for the true freshman. Daniel said it was actually CJ who let him know Jay had committed to the Rams.

"I think CJ was the one who told me," Daniel said. "He told me before Jay did and texted me to tell me how excited he was. The reaction was pretty good and he is happy too. Now, he is going to get to play with his brother again. You see how well CJ is doing right now, getting plenty of playing time and To have his little brother come out who is just as good an athlete as he is will be a win-win for Colorado State."

Jay's commitment to Colorado State will allow the family to try and stick together in one place starting next season. Jay's brother, CJ, is a defensive end for the team and his parents are looking for jobs which would bring them to Colorado full time. The family was in Denver last month to check out the area in hopes of staying in the same state, which has been a rare thing over the past few years.

Daniel James is a defensive line coach with the Florida Tuskers of the newly formed United Football League and has enjoyed a coaching career in arena leagues, as well as small colleges throughout the east coast. Last season, Daniel coached with the D.C. Armor, an arena team, as well as St. Paul's College in Virginia.

"It is going to be a great thing for Colorado State because Jay is one of the best athletes I have ever seen and I've been coaching on the pro level for 13 years," Daniel said. "I thought last year he could come in and play for my arena team. That is what I think of him as an athlete, never mind the fact he is my son."

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