Blue White Illustrated

hey were asked if they're psyched for the season. (They are.) They were asked if they like the new coaching sta9. (They do.) They were asked how excited they are to visit Ireland later this month. (Very.) But the easiest question that any Penn State football player faced at the team's recent media day had to be the one in which a reporter asked Kyle Carter what makes Jesse James such a danger- ous o9ensive threat. Carter didn't have to give that one a whole lot of deep thought. "Just look at him," he said, glancing over at the junior tight end. "He's a big dude." Big? You could say that. James is listed on Penn State's most recent ros- ter at 6-foot-7, 254 pounds, and his real weight is probably closer to 270. He turned 20 years old less than three months ago, but he wouldn't ap- pear out of place in an NFL training camp if he showed up there tomor- row. Even on a team that's loaded with brawny, athletic-looking guys, he's got the kind of physique that stands out. "He's like Gronkowski already," said Carter, referring to Rob Gronkows- ki of the New England Patriots, a two-time Pro Bowler. "So that's one thing that he de8nitely has." The word "freakish" and its various derivatives seem to come up a lot when teammates and coaches discuss the combination of size, speed and athletic ability that James brings to Penn State's o9ense. Head coach James Franklin, strength coach Dwight Galt and teammates Adam Brene- man, Akeel Lynch, Miles Die9enbach and Brian Gaia all have used it. John Donovan, the Lions' o9ensive coordinator and tight ends coach, managed to avoid it at media day, but when a reporter described James as a "large human," Donovan quickly interjected. Said the coach, "He's not human." Human or not, there is one thing about James that is not in dispute: He is Penn State's top returning pass-catcher with 25 receptions for 333 yards and three touchdowns last season. No less certain is that his role – and that of all the Nittany Lions' tight ends – will expand this coming fall now that Allen Robinson is gone a:er leading the team in receptions the past two seasons. Franklin said much of the production that Penn State has lost with Robinson's early departure for the NFL "will come from the tight end po- sition. That's where we have the most veteran players and experience and depth." James is looking forward to the challenge. "It's a good opportunity," he said. "It's a new season and I've got to 8nd the new role that I'll have in the o9ense with the new coaching sta9. I'm excited about it." James' physical ability is one reason why he's being cited as one of the Nittany Lions' rising stars. At Penn State's Li: for Life event in July, he dazzled spectators and teammates alike by completing 27 reps in the 225- pound bench press, a total that would have placed him among the top 8ve tight ends in the past 10 NFL combines. He also performed 12 reps at 495 pounds in the dead li:. | T SURE HANDS During the past two seasons, James scored 11 touchdowns, the fourth-highest total on the team behind Zach Zwinak, Allen Robinson and Bill Belton. He is the team's top re- turning pass- catcher with 25 receptions for 333 yards in 2013. Photo by Steve Manuel

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