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Hoops a springboard to gridiron for James
After one year of
football, athletic Va. Beach tackle on track to play defensive end at
East Carolina
By
Sammy Batten
©2013 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
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Jeff McGowan knows
better than most what attributes and abilities East Carolina head
coach Ruffin McNeill desires in a defensive lineman. That's because
McGowan played the defensive line at Appalachian State between 1993
and 1996 when McNeill coached the position as an assistant for the
Mountaineers.
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So when McGowan returned
to coaching at Green Run High School in Virginia Beach, VA, after
four-year absence, he immediately saw someone he thought McNeill would
like in Shaun James. The 6-foot-4, 245-pound James was a basketball
player at Green Run, who had only played football at the school as a
junior.
"I had heard about Shaun
and wanted to meet him, so I went to a basketball game,'' McGowan said.
"He immediately reminded me a lot of a kid I had when I was at Green Run
previously (as defensive coordinator from 2007-2009) named Joe Jones
(defensive tackle), who received a full ride to Virginia Tech. They had
the same athleticism and build.
"I got on the phone to
Coach (John) Wiley (ECU associate head coach and linebackers coach), who
had been at Appalachian with me as well. I told him, 'I've got a kid
you've got to see.' They knew I wasn't going to tell them about someone
who wasn't worth looking at.''
James consequently
attended ECU's summer camp where he impressed McNeill and his staff
enough to receive a scholarship offer. The defensive end finally
accepted August 13 over offers from Hampton, James Madison and Marshall.
Before the Pirates could
make a play for James, McGowan had to make an important pitch, too.
James fancied himself a basketball player and is the starting center for
the Green Run varsity. He's already given football a try once before
when he came out as a freshman, but after about a week decided to give
it up. So James had his sights on playing basketball in college before
McGowan provided a practical perspective on that plan.
"He had basketball dreams,
but I told him, 'Look, you've got to realize there are plenty of 6-4,
6-6 guys playing basketball, and not many of them are centers. But there
aren't many 6-4 guys who can move like you in football,''' McGowan said.
"I told him that he could get his weight up to around 280 or 285, and
he'd do well (in football).
"He immediately bought in.
He was in the weight room the day after basketball season was over. He
hasn't missed a day since. He's put on about 15 pounds since basketball
ended.''
James already had one
impressive season to build on before McGowan was named head coach. He
produced 70 tackles, six sacks and recovered three fumbles in his first
season of varsity play in 2012.
"He really was just an
athlete out there and didn't understand too much about what he was
doing,'' McGowan said.
Marshall stepped up to
make the first scholarship offer to James in May. ECU came into the
picture in June when, after watching James turn a time of 4.97 seconds
in the 40-yard dash in their summer camp, the Pirates came through with
an offer.
But it would take James
more than a month before reaching the decision to become a Pirate.
"He thought about it a
little bit,'' McGowan said. "He's sort and quiet and laid back. He's not
a kid who needs attention, so I think he made up his mind and he really
didn't publicize it. He just went ahead and did it.'''
James, who also plays left
tackle on offense for Green Run, has been recruited to play defensive
end by the Pirates.
"They're going to put
weight on him and he'll be able to carry it, no problem,'' McGowan said.
"Right now he's a skinny 245. But the thing that he has already is he's
so quick off the ball. He still needs to work with his hands to get off
blocks. But he's so quick he just blows by people.
"He's also a great
student. He's definitely going to be a plus for East Carolina.''
The Pirates haven't
finished their recruiting efforts at Green Run yet. McGowan said ECU has
also offered his senior running back, 5-8, 178-pound Anthony Scott.
Scott, who also plays cornerback, ran for 937 yards and scored 11
touchdowns last season to earn first-team All-Virginia Beach honors.
Scott impressed ECU during
summer camp when he was timed at 4.35 in the 40-yard dash. Hampton,
James Madison, Old Dominion and West Virginia have also offered
scholarships to Scott.
"A lot of schools have
offered him as a cornerback, but he wants to play running back,''
McGowan said of Scott.
And finally, just exactly
what kind of position coach was Ruffin McNeill back in his Appalachian
State days?
"He chewed me out every
day,'' McGowan said. "It was tough love. Being around him as a younger
player, he could wear you out. But when you get older and realize he was
just doing what was best for you, and you respect him for it.
"Ruffin is such a class
act. I called to congratulate him when he was hired by East Carolina,
and I'm sure he received about 1,000 calls. But he sent me a text and
called me back. That's just the type of guy he is.''
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09/01/2013 08:36 PM |
