Brandon James
Encyclopedia
Brandon Keith James is an American professional football
wide receiver
and kick returner
for the Edmonton Eskimos
of the Canadian Football League
(CFL). James played college football
for the University of Florida
, and thereafter, he has played professionally for the Indianapolis Colts
of the National Football League
(NFL) and the Edmonton Eskimos.
in 1987. He attended St. Augustine High School
, where he was a standout running back for the St. Augustine Yellow Jackets high school football
team. As a senior team captain
in 2005, James ran for 900 yards and eight touchdown
s while leading the Yellow Jackets to a Florida Class 3A state championship.
to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida
, where he played for coach Urban Meyer
's Florida Gators football
team from 2006
to 2009
. As a freshman in 2006, James saw immediate playing time as a kick return specialist, returning thirty-three punts for 363 yards and one touchdown in 2006, and earning Freshman All-Southeastern Conference
(SEC) and Freshman All-American honors. His 33-yard kickoff return against the Ohio State Buckeyes
in the 2007 BCS National Championship Game
gave the Gators the ball in Buckeye territory after Ohio State's Ted Ginn, Jr.
opened the game with a kickoff return for a touchdown. James' dramatic return and the Gators' resulting touchdown changed the early momentum of the game, with the Gators ultimately defeating the top-ranked Buckeyes 41–14 to win the BCS National Championship.
James led the Gators in kickoff and punt return yardage for four consecutive seasons, and finished his college career with 4,770 total yards gained, including 112 kickoff returns for 2,718 yards and a touchdown, 117 punt returns for 1,371 yards and four touchdowns, 379 receiving yards and 302 rushing yards. His career kickoff return yardage and combined kick return yardage remain SEC records. He was a first-team All-American in 2007, a consensus first-team All-American in 2008, a first-team All-SEC selection in 2008, the SEC Special Teams Player of the Year in 2008, and a senior team captain
in 2009. During his time as a Gator, the team won two SEC Championship Game
s (2006
, 2008
) and two BCS National Championship Game
s (2007, 2009).
James was also a member of the Florida Gators track and field team in 2007, competing at the SEC Outdoor Championships and running in the 100-meter dashpreliminaries in 10.87 seconds to finish twenty-third.
James graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree
in sociology
in 2010.
signed James as an undrafted free agent on April 30, 2010. On November 10, 2010, James was activated from the practice squad to the main roster. On Sunday, November 28, 2010, James posted 150 kick return yards and twenty-nine punt return yards. He was released the following week from the Colts active roster.
Canadian football
Canadian football is a form of gridiron football played exclusively in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed prolate spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area...
wide receiver
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
and kick returner
Kick returner
In American and Canadian football, a kick returner is the player on special teams who is primarily responsible to catch kickoffs and attempts to return them in the opposite direction. If the ball is kicked into his own endzone, he must assess the situation on the field while the ball is in the...
for the Edmonton Eskimos
Edmonton Eskimos
The Edmonton Eskimos are a Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. They currently play in the West Division of the Canadian Football League . Edmonton is currently the third-youngest franchise in the CFL, although there were clubs with the name Edmonton Eskimos as early as 1895...
of the Canadian Football League
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
(CFL). James played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
for the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
, and thereafter, he has played professionally for the Indianapolis Colts
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
of the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
(NFL) and the Edmonton Eskimos.
Early years
James was born in St. Augustine, FloridaSt. Augustine, Florida
St. Augustine is a city in the northeast section of Florida and the county seat of St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorer and admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, it is the oldest continuously occupied European-established city and port in the continental United...
in 1987. He attended St. Augustine High School
St. Augustine High School (St. Augustine, Florida)
St. Augustine High School is the oldest public high school in the St. Johns County School District, located in Saint Augustine, St. Johns County, Florida. Its students are grades 9 through 12...
, where he was a standout running back for the St. Augustine Yellow Jackets high school football
High school football
High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....
team. As a senior team captain
Captain (sports)
In team sports, a captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field...
in 2005, James ran for 900 yards and eight touchdown
Touchdown
A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...
s while leading the Yellow Jackets to a Florida Class 3A state championship.
College career
James received an athletic scholarshipAthletic scholarship
An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university awarded to an individual based predominantly on his or her ability to play in a sport...
to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
, where he played for coach Urban Meyer
Urban Meyer
Urban Frank Meyer, III is an American football coach and former player. He is head football coach at Ohio State University, having been hired for the position in November 2011...
's Florida Gators football
Florida Gators football
The Florida Gators football team represents the University of Florida in the sport of American football. The Florida Gators compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletics Association and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference...
team from 2006
2006 Florida Gators football team
The 2006 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida in the sport of American football during the 2006 college football season...
to 2009
2009 Florida Gators football team
The 2009 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida in the sport of American football during the 2009 college football season...
. As a freshman in 2006, James saw immediate playing time as a kick return specialist, returning thirty-three punts for 363 yards and one touchdown in 2006, and earning Freshman All-Southeastern Conference
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...
(SEC) and Freshman All-American honors. His 33-yard kickoff return against the Ohio State Buckeyes
2006 Ohio State Buckeyes football team
The 2006 Ohio State Buckeyes football team was an American football team representing the Ohio State University in the college football season of 2006-2007. The team's head coach was Jim Tressel. The Buckeyes played their home games in Ohio Stadium...
in the 2007 BCS National Championship Game
2007 BCS National Championship Game
The 2007 BCS National Championship Game, sponsored by Tostitos, was an American football game played at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, on January 8, 2007. The BCS No. 2 Florida Gators defeated the No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes, 41–14. The Buckeyes secured a spot by finishing...
gave the Gators the ball in Buckeye territory after Ohio State's Ted Ginn, Jr.
Ted Ginn, Jr.
-College career:OSU track coach Russ Rogers recruited Ginn to run track, believing that he could qualify for the 2008 Olympics. However, his track career was put on hold in order to focus on football. Ginn was recruited as a defensive back by Ohio State....
opened the game with a kickoff return for a touchdown. James' dramatic return and the Gators' resulting touchdown changed the early momentum of the game, with the Gators ultimately defeating the top-ranked Buckeyes 41–14 to win the BCS National Championship.
James led the Gators in kickoff and punt return yardage for four consecutive seasons, and finished his college career with 4,770 total yards gained, including 112 kickoff returns for 2,718 yards and a touchdown, 117 punt returns for 1,371 yards and four touchdowns, 379 receiving yards and 302 rushing yards. His career kickoff return yardage and combined kick return yardage remain SEC records. He was a first-team All-American in 2007, a consensus first-team All-American in 2008, a first-team All-SEC selection in 2008, the SEC Special Teams Player of the Year in 2008, and a senior team captain
Captain (sports)
In team sports, a captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field...
in 2009. During his time as a Gator, the team won two SEC Championship Game
SEC Championship Game
The SEC Championship Game refers to the game determining the Southeastern Conference's football season champion. The championship game pits the SEC Western Division representative against the Eastern Division representative in a game held after the regular season has been completed. Thus far, nine...
s (2006
2006 SEC Championship Game
The 2006 SEC Championship Game was played on December 2, 2006, in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia. The game matched SEC Western Division champion Arkansas against SEC Eastern Division champion Florida. The second meeting between the two schools in the championship game, it led to a 38–28...
, 2008
2008 SEC Championship Game
The 2008 Dr Pepper SEC Championship Game was played on December 6, 2008 in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia to determine the 2008 football champion of the Southeastern Conference . The game featured the Florida Gators and the Alabama Crimson Tide. The Gators were classified as the home team...
) and two BCS National Championship Game
BCS National Championship Game
The BCS National Championship Game, or BCS National Championship, is the final bowl game of the annual Bowl Championship Series and is intended by the organizers of the BCS to determine the U.S. national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision...
s (2007, 2009).
James was also a member of the Florida Gators track and field team in 2007, competing at the SEC Outdoor Championships and running in the 100-meter dashpreliminaries in 10.87 seconds to finish twenty-third.
James graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
in 2010.
| Return Stats | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | Punt Returns | Yards | Touchdowns | Fair Catches | Long | Kick Returns | Yards | Touchdowns | Fair Catches | Long | |
| 2006 | Florida Gators Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida. The "Lady Gators" is an alternative nickname sometimes used by the Gators women's teams... |
40 | 363 | 1 | 7 | 77 | 21 | 383 | 0 | 0 | 33 | |
| 2007 | Florida Gators Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida. The "Lady Gators" is an alternative nickname sometimes used by the Gators women's teams... |
16 | 254 | 1 | 2 | 83 | 30 | 841 | 0 | 0 | 61 | |
| 2008 | Florida Gators Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida. The "Lady Gators" is an alternative nickname sometimes used by the Gators women's teams... |
46 | 510 | 2 | 8 | 78 | 32 | 738 | 0 | 0 | 52 | |
| 2009 | Florida Gators Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida. The "Lady Gators" is an alternative nickname sometimes used by the Gators women's teams... |
44 | 244 | 0 | 11 | 49 | 29 | 756 | 1 | 0 | 85 | |
Professional career
The Indianapolis ColtsIndianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
signed James as an undrafted free agent on April 30, 2010. On November 10, 2010, James was activated from the practice squad to the main roster. On Sunday, November 28, 2010, James posted 150 kick return yards and twenty-nine punt return yards. He was released the following week from the Colts active roster.
See also
- 2006 Florida Gators football team2006 Florida Gators football teamThe 2006 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida in the sport of American football during the 2006 college football season...
- 2007 College Football All-America Team2007 College Football All-America TeamThe 2007 College Football All-America Team is composed of the following All-American Teams: Associated Press, Football Writers Association of America, American Football Coaches Association, Walter Camp Foundation, The Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Pro Football Weekly, ESPN, CBS Sports, College...
- 2008 College Football All-America Team2008 College Football All-America TeamThe 2008 College Football All-America Team is composed of the following All-American first teams: Associated Press, Football Writers Association of America, American Football Coaches Association, Walter Camp Foundation, The Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Pro Football Weekly, ESPN, CBS Sports,...
- 2008 Florida Gators football team2008 Florida Gators football teamThe 2008 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida in the sport of American football during the 2008 college football season...
- Florida GatorsFlorida GatorsThe Florida Gators are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida. The "Lady Gators" is an alternative nickname sometimes used by the Gators women's teams...
- List of Florida Gators football players
- List of SEC Most Valuable Players
- List of University of Florida alumni