Blue White Illustrated

U P C L O S E & P E R S O N A L BY RYAN SNYDER Blue White Illustrated T Already on campus after a fine high school career, tight end Jesse James knows how to make an impression THE JAMES FILE EARLY RISER ight end Jesse James will be look- ing to make an early impact in Bill O'Brien's offense this season. The 6-foot-7 McKeesport, Pa., native has already begun to stand out from his freshman classmates. Not only was he the lone early enrollee in this year's recruiting class, but he also made a difference on the field in the Blue-White Game, catching two pass- es for 24 yards. But while college life may be com- pletely new to James, this isn't the first time in his career that he's made a strong first impression. Something very similar happened during his first year of high school football. "We actually learned all about what Jesse is capable of pretty early," said South Allegheny head coach Pat Mon- roe, a former Penn State wide receiv- er. "As a freshman, the first time we got to work with him was at preseason camp, which is three practices a day, away from home – not easy on most kids. He looked like he was walking in heels that first day, or walking on shards of glass. His feet were killing him. He had a small pair of cleats on or something like that. "But as a freshman, Jesse never once came to the coaches about anything, never once was looking for a way out of a drill. Here he was, as a freshman, taking hits from upperclassmen, com- peting with the upperclassmen, all while his feet were killing him. As a coach, when you have a kid like that, you can't help but get excited, because you know he wants to learn, to get bet- ter." While South Allegheny's coaches decided to use James primarily on the junior varsity that season, they did so only because they wanted to make sure he didn't get hurt. At the time, James hadn't yet gotten into the team's weightlifting program and hadn't filled out his 6-2 frame. After the coaches got him into the W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M S T A T I S T I C S Caught 18 passes and scored three touchdowns his senior season. ... Fin- ished his career with 71 re- ceptions for 1,030 yards and 10 touchdowns. H O N O R S Won second-team All-State notice following his junior and senior seasons. ... Was a Semper Fi All-American. Was named to the Pitts- burgh Post-Gazette's Fabu- lous 22 team. ... Named a three-star recruit by both Rivals.com and Scout.com. circumstances to focus on his block- ing. He caught only 71 passes in his career for 1,030 yards and 10 touch- downs. Consequently, there wasn't much film of him circulating among college coaches. "There were a few seasons where it was tough for us to get much protec- tion up front," Monroe said. "We wanted to use him more, but we needed to protect the quarterback, so it was tough for us to really use him as much as we wanted. That may end up being a blessing in disguise for him, though, because it allowed him to re- ally learn how to become a better blocker. "We know he can catch, we know he can run, so him having to block more often than we may have liked could pay off down the road for Penn State." Pitt and Toledo were the only other HIGH AND TIGHT James caught two passes in the Blue-White Game, his first appearance in Beaver Stadium. Steve Manuel weight room, Monroe began to realize that James had a chance to become one of Pittsburgh's top prospects in several years. "The amount of work he put in as a sophomore was just incredible. At the time, he was actually a wrestler, but he would do everything he could to work out with the football team, as well as the wrestling team. You don't see too many kids working out after wrestling practice, especially a 15-year- old after a full day of school." That sense of determination landed James a spot as a full-time varsity starter the next season and also helped him earn the respect of his up- perclassman teammates. "In the middle of his sophomore year, Jesse impressed me so much when it came to work ethic and certain lead- ership qualities, that I made him a cap- tain," Monroe said. "I wanted to reward him for the examples he was setting when it came to working hard in the weight room, before practice, during practice and after." James went on to earn second-team All-State recognition his junior and senior seasons. But South Allegheny won only three games during his final three years, and James was forced by schools to join Penn State in extend- ing verbal offers to James. But follow- ing the Sandusky scandal, both Stan- ford and Maryland made a serious push and would most likely have made offers if James had ever shown signs of wavering on his commitment. Fortunately for O'Brien and his staff, that never happened. And because James, who now weighs 265 pounds, followed through on his pledge to at- tend Penn State, the Nittany Lions have a potential go-to player to bolster an offense that is likely to feature the tight end position prominently. But while the coaching staff was no doubt pleased to see James shine this spring, O'Brien has been eager to make sure the expectations remain reasonable for the newcomer. "He's a young kid, he's a big kid, he's a very, very talented kid and he's got a chance to be a really good player for us," O'Brien told the media at a stop in Baltimore during the recent Penn State Coaches Caravan. "But I think we have to slow down on comparing him to Rob Gronkowski and guys like that. Those are Pro Bowl NFL players. But he's a got a chance to be a really good player." J U N E 2 8 , 2 0 1 2 13

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