Robert James has been making a name for himself so far this year, and if the ASU defense can continue to play as well as they have, James will remain on the short list for Pac-10 DPY.
James is playing a position that has traditionally produced some of ASU's best defensive players, including Darren Woodson and Pat Tillman. The Woodson comparison is coming up often these days -- both are from Maryvale, both played OLB at ASU, and James is likely to make the switch to strong safety in the NFL.
I'm told James ran high 4.5s at last year's NFL dealio at ASU, but is plenty capable of showing 4.4 speed. He played safety in high school, but he's less of a hybrid OLB in this defense that Woodson was. His responsibilities are more in line with what Tillman did. It will be interesting to see how teams view him. After watching Adam Archuleta basically show few DB skills as a safety, I think teams may weigh in more on that fear than they have in the past. While both Archie and James played safety in high school before moving to LB, James arrived at ASU as a great athlete while Archie was just getting started in his Russian-style Olympic plyometrics. James is a more natural athlete, and quicker/more instinctive.
James is going to be almost impossible to replace when he graduates this year. There's hope that Ryan McFoy will be that guy, but he's still barely 200 lbs. and isn't as instinctive. Hopefully he'll develop as quickly as James did, who was already showing immense promise as a sophomore.
James is playing a position that has traditionally produced some of ASU's best defensive players, including Darren Woodson and Pat Tillman. The Woodson comparison is coming up often these days -- both are from Maryvale, both played OLB at ASU, and James is likely to make the switch to strong safety in the NFL.
I'm told James ran high 4.5s at last year's NFL dealio at ASU, but is plenty capable of showing 4.4 speed. He played safety in high school, but he's less of a hybrid OLB in this defense that Woodson was. His responsibilities are more in line with what Tillman did. It will be interesting to see how teams view him. After watching Adam Archuleta basically show few DB skills as a safety, I think teams may weigh in more on that fear than they have in the past. While both Archie and James played safety in high school before moving to LB, James arrived at ASU as a great athlete while Archie was just getting started in his Russian-style Olympic plyometrics. James is a more natural athlete, and quicker/more instinctive.
James is going to be almost impossible to replace when he graduates this year. There's hope that Ryan McFoy will be that guy, but he's still barely 200 lbs. and isn't as instinctive. Hopefully he'll develop as quickly as James did, who was already showing immense promise as a sophomore.
