Brandon James - Return to Sender
Tuesday, November 18, 2008 | Football
By: Dan Apple, UF Communications
Special. There is not a more appropriate word to describe junior running back, wide receiver, do-it-all playmaker Brandon James. Whether you are describing his ability to make people miss, his role on special teams or his professional approach to the game, there is not a more suitable word.
James played high school football at St. Augustine High School, running for 900 yards and eight touchdowns as a senior and leading his team to its first-ever Class 3A state championship. However, James' 5-6, 167-pound stature kept a lot of schools from recruiting him.
“My whole career pretty much, people have been telling me, 'You're not going to be able to play at a big college because of your size,'" said James. “I just used it as motivation, used it as an edge to try to get better each day… Everyone has their opinion of you, but at the end of the day you're the only one who can judge yourself.”
Playing at nearby rival Nease High School was another future Gator, quarterback Tim Tebow, and he knew plenty about the dynamic James. Tebow led Nease to the Class 4A state championship as a senior with a 13-2 record, with one of those losses coming to James' St. Augustine team.
Tebow had already committed to Florida and knew that head coach Urban Meyer could use a player like James, despite his size.
“I was talking to [Coach Meyer] the whole time and telling him we've got to get this guy,” said Tebow. “Of all the guys we were recruiting, he might be small but this guy is legit. He's unbelievable.”
In 2006, James enrolled at Florida and made an impact in just his third game as a Gator. After two blowout victories at home, Florida traveled to Tennessee for its first SEC game and Coach Meyer still had not decided who was going to return punts. Not until the team walked out of the tunnel to take the field.
“I look at this nut … the kid is this big [arm extended about five feet high] and he starts doing the Gator chomp,” said Coach Meyer. “That kid was not intimidated so I grabbed him and told him he would be the punt returner. That's when the decision was made.”
On the Vols' second drive of the game, Florida forced a punt and James returned it for eight yards. Nothing spectacular, but his teammates knew what he was capable of.
"I had been telling Coach Meyer about Brandon James since he got to Florida,” said former UF linebacker Brandon Siler. “I knew what he could do. Once I saw him back there [to field the first punt in the UT game], it was like, 'Uh, oh. Come on and get up and watch it.' Every time he touches the ball back there, we know he's capable of making a big play."
The Gators forced Tennessee to punt again on its next possession and James dropped back to return the punt. He electrified the Gator sideline with a 35-yard return across midfield. He finished the game with four punt returns for 65 yards and Florida won 21-20 to keep its national championship hopes alive. James' first trip to Neyland Stadium was the start of something very special.
James finished his first season with 370 punt return yards, the second-highest single-season total in Florida history. Against Western Carolina, he set the record for most punt return yards in a game with 155, highlighted by a 77-yard return for his first career touchdown. It was the first punt return touchdown by a Gator since Lito Sheppard's 57-yard return against South Carolina on Nov. 11, 2000.
After an outstanding freshman year, James earned national recognition from the media and coaches. He was named a First-Team Freshman All-American by Rivals.com and Honorable Mention Freshman All-American by The Sporting News. The SEC's coaches voted James to the Freshman All-SEC squad. The sociology major joined the Gator Track Team after spring football practice, competing in the 100 meters.
As a sophomore in 2007, he set the UF single-season record for most kick return yards (841) and added an 83-yard punt return for a touchdown against Tennessee in The Swamp, matching the fifth-longest punt return in school history. He once again earned national recognition, earning Second-Team All-America honors from The Sporting News and Rivals.com.
The Associated Press and SEC coaches voted James Second-Team All-SEC as a return specialist. He led the nation with seven returns of 50 yards or more. James also led the SEC and ranked second in the nation by averaging 18.1 yards per punt return.
James' playmaking ability forced coaches to find other ways to get him the ball and his role was expected to increase heading into the 2008 season.
“I think the best first step in college football is Percy Harvin. The guy right behind him is Brandon James,” said Coach Meyer.
James saw action at running back last season, and this season he has begun to see action at wide receiver. He has 11 rushes for 52 yards and two touchdowns on the season, to go along with nine catches for 73 yards and another touchdown.
Although his role in the offense has increased, James is still best-known for his dazzling returns. In the season opener against Hawaii, shortly after he had scored his first career rushing touchdown, James added his third career punt return touchdown on a 74-yard run, making half of Hawaii's team miss on his way down the sideline.
On the Gators' trip to Knoxville this season, UF forced the Vols to punt on their second possession and James dropped back to field the punt as usual. Seconds later, he was sprinting 78-yards untouched into the endzone for another touchdown.
“I thought his punt return against Hawaii was the best one I've seen and he topped it,” said Coach Meyer. “He even said to me, 'That might have been my best.'”
The versatility that James brings to the field is unrivaled; returning kicks, running the ball and even sprinting down the field to take out the opposing punt returner. Matt Hayes of The Sporting News declared James one of the 20 most indispensable college football players in the country.
“His ability to change momentum forces opponents into a dilemma,” wrote Hayes. “Kick away and lose field position or take chances on returns.”
Teams have continued to punt to James, and he has continued to break records. With his touchdown return against Tennessee, he tied former Gator Jacquez Green for the most punt return touchdowns in a career (4). In the next game, he topped Keiwan Ratliff for the most punt return yards in a career (980).
James is bound to break another record or two as this season concludes and he returns as a senior. His coaches and teammates know how special James is, and they love watching him as much as the fans do.
"Every time he gets the ball in his hands, you've just got to hold your breath,” said linebacker Dustin Doe. “He's just a creative player. When he gets the ball, he's like an artist putting his pen on the pad. You just never know what you're going to get."
-UF-
