A large snow storm swept across the Edwardsville area late Tuesday night. The snow gave District 7 students a day off of school on Wednesday, which happened to be national signing day. EHS senior football star Craig James who was originally scheduled to sign Wednesday at 1 pm could not wait any longer to announce his decision. The news broke early Wednesday morning on twitter; James was headed to Minnesota to become a Golden Gopher.
“I knew when I got on (University of Minnesota) campus, I could just feel it.” said James.
The 5 feet 10 inch tall and 168 pound cornerback helped lead the Tigers to a 12-1 record in his senior season, making it all the way to the 7A state semi-finals before being bounced by eventual state champion, Mt. Carmel.
“I think that when it comes to the boundary of shutting down players it (Craig) will give us that ability”, said Minnesota defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys in a video on youtube.com about James.
James was second on the EHS team in interceptions with four, while racking up 24 solo tackles on defense and 29 total tackles. On the offensive side James took 56 rushing attempts for 326 yards and three touchdowns, as well as five receptions for 141 yards. Also to his credit James returned two punts for touchdowns his senior year and one kick off return for a touchdown.
James was definitely a leader on the field for the Tigers, “Craig brought a certain intensity with him every time he walked on the field on the field and we all fed off that intensity.” said EHS Senior tight end Hayden Schmidt who signed with William Jewell College on Wednesday.
James does not intend on taking a red shirt season like some freshmen do when they first step on campus, “I plan to play” said James about his upcoming freshman year.
James will join a Minnesota squad who is on the rise after finishing 8-5 in the 2013 season and making an appearance in the Texas Bowl versus Syracuse, who had also given James an offer.
James had received offers from Indiana, Iowa, Iowa State, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Northern Illinois and Syracuse before narrowing it down to the final three of Indiana, Kansas and Minnesota when he then eventually picked the Gophers.
When asked about the whole recruiting process James said, “It was fun, but also stressful” as that is the case with most student athletes.
James will follow in the footsteps of his older brother and former EHS standout running back Cameron James, who is now playing football and running track at McKendree College in Lebanon, Illinois. Also James will compete in the Big Ten conference alongside former EHS teammate Vincent Valentine who is playing defensive tackle at Nebraska.
“He’s a fast strong kid that knows the game well and can adapt to any situation”, said Schmidt, “Minnesota will put him in.”
According to ESPN Recruiting Nation James is ranked as the 27th best player in Illinois, and ranked as the 48th best cornerback in the nation.
“We’ve definitely improved our talent by getting Craig”, said Claeys as he has high praises and hopes for James for the 2014 season.
