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Marcus James has played multiple positions throughout his high school football career both at McGuinness as a freshman and sophomore and at Carl Albert last season as a junior.
Each of the national recruiting sites list him as playing a different position, On3 as a linebacker, ESPN as an inside linebacker, Rivals as an outside linebacker and 247Sports even has James as a tight end. But since his youth league days, James has only identified himself as one type of football player: a true old-school linebacker.
“I like hitting people,” James said. “I like being the captain of the defense, being out there and going after people.”
James’ ferociousness on the gridiron landed him at No. 17 in The Oklahoman’s Super 30 rankings of the state’s top college football recruits in the 2025 class. James announced his commitment to OU on Nov. 2, picking the Sooners over Arkansas, TCU, Texas A&M and others.
Growing up in Oklahoma City, James was an avid OU fan whose family had football season tickets. While he cheered for his favorite former Sooner, current Tennessee Titans linebacker Kenneth Murray, inside Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on Saturdays, he never envisioned playing for the school.
More: A look at The Oklahoman’s 2025 Super 30 high school football recruiting series
Marcus James, Carl Albert, is pictured at the Oklahoman newsroom in Oklahoma City, on Tuesday, June 11, 2024.
At the peak of his fandom, OU wasn’t known for having a formidable defense. And for an aspiring college linebacker, other schools such as Notre Dame, Tennessee and Texas A&M were more attractive.
Enter Brent Venables.
James’ recruitment began to shift when Venables was hired to replace Lincoln Riley, who jetted off to Southern California following the 2021 season. Venables coached linebackers for 26 years prior to becoming a head…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/oklahoman-super-30-why-carl-110123015.html
Author : The Oklahoman
Publish date : 2024-07-04 11:01:23
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