21 IL 3* OL Cameron James Talks Michigan State Offer
With the Mel Tucker era off and running in East Lansing, Michigan State was on the recruiting trail early this week, extending offers to some high priority recruits in the 2021 class, including Chicago (IL) Simeon 3-star offensive lineman Cameron James, who picked up an offer on Tuesday morning.
Spartan Nation caught up with James to discuss his offer from the Spartans and the 6-foot-8, 295-pound offensive tackle said that he didn’t see the offer coming and was received the offer from Tucker personally.
“It definitely came out of nowhere,” he said. “It was my first time actually talking on the phone with him (Tucker) and communicating with him. He told me that he liked my film and everything and that I’m one of their top recruits, so it was very surprising.”
James added that he enjoyed having the chance to talk with Tucker and was excited to be one of the first players that Tucker extended an offer to in his time with Michigan State.
“He’s a great person to talk to, he’s very respectful,” he said. “I really enjoyed talking to him.”
“It means that he cares,” he added. “He sees somebody from Chicago and wanted to give him some good opportunities.”
With an offer from the Spartans in hand, James said that he plans on taking a visit to Michigan State for a spring practice in March.
In addition to his offer from Michigan State, James holds 15 offers, including offers from Minnesota, Indiana, Maryland, Purdue, Arizona, Cincinnati, Iowa State, Missouri and West Virginia.
James called the recruiting process one that’s been obviously exciting for him as he’s gained the attention of several top Division 1 programs and also admitted that he’s even been a bit surprised with how his recruitment has played out so far.
“It’s been a rush, really,” he said. “It’s been very surprising and I’m just very grateful for all of the opportunities I’ve been given to play football at all of these great colleges.”
When talking about his offer from Minnesota, James said that he’s enjoyed talking with the Gophers and said that after not being able to make it for Minnesota’s junior day, he intends on visiting in the spring.
“Coach Callahan is really the one I’ve been talking to and communicating with a lot,” he said. “I was supposed to go down there for a junior day in late January, but there was a lot of snow so we weren’t able to make it down there, but I’m going to make it back there for the spring.”
Another Big Ten school that James intends to visit in the near future is Indiana and spoke highly of the Hoosiers’ coaching staff.
“The coaches are very respectful and they make me feel at home,” he said. “I actually do want to get down there as soon as possible.”
With a full year of high school football left before he moves on to the college level, James said that he feels his speed and athleticism are among his strengths and added that he hopes to improve his strikes when getting off the ball.
“I move quickly,” he said. “I have strong punches, I’m fast off the ball.”
“I can improve with my strike once I get off the ball,” James noted. “The steps that I have to take to get to a certain point.
James currently holds four Big Ten offers and considering his size and playing style, he feels he could be a good fit with a Big Ten program.
Although Michigan State has a new coach and incoming coaching staff, James said that he’s been able to get a good feel for Michigan State and watched some of the games because his teammate at Simeon, Alante Brown, was once committed to Michigan State.
“I see it’s a different coach, but their team still has a strong mentality,” he said. “I’ve actually watched them back when one of my old teammates, Alante, when he used to be committed to them, I used to watch them and see how they play and I really like it.”
For all of the latest news on James and the Spartans, be sure to stay tuned to Spartan Nation!
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