Chansi Stuckey Was The Key to Notre Dame Landing Braylon James

The journey to Notre Dame was quite the ride for Round Rock (Texas) Stony Point wide receiver Braylon James. When the new staff was put together in January the Irish were considered an afterthought in his recruitment, but it didn't take long for that to change.

For a while, there was minimal communication, leading to uncertainty as to whether the new Irish staff could close on the talented Texas product.

James’ father, Glynn James, gave the Irish Breakdown staff a peak behind the curtains of Braylon's roller coaster relationship with Notre Dame. The staff quickly turned the tides on the “commitment that almost never happened.”

“Speaking on Notre Dame, last summer we were trying to get down to visit when the dead period was up. I guess it was in the Summer, probably June,” James explained. “The previous wide receiver coach, we were trying to set up a visit but the guy never returned or got back with us so we kind of just put it on the side and said 'okay, maybe he doesn’t like you'.”

That lack of interest could have doomed this recruitment. In fact, James almost came off the board to a different school as a result. Luckily, the new staff quickly made moves to get back in the race.

“When January had started, he was getting ready to commit to Stanford but then Coach Chansi Stuckey called and said, 'Hey man, I got a job at Notre Dame, I want you to be a part of my wide receiver crew and think we could do big things by developing you',” James said. “So he held off on committing to Stanford. As the process kept going on, getting to talk to Coach Stuckey and Coach (Marcus) Freeman, we just fell in love with it.”

James’ relationship with Stuckey was a huge part of this resurgence in this particular recruitment. That was a preexisting relationship that had already been developed prior to Stuckey arriving in South Bend. It just meant something different now.

“He liked Coach Stuckey at Baylor, but he just didn’t like Baylor,” said the elder James. “He didn’t want to go to school at Baylor. They already had a good genuine relationship so once he got the job at Notre Dame, that kind of opened his eyes up back to Notre Dame. That put them back on the map and the rest is history.”

Stuckey's character is something you hear often when talking to recruits, and it was no different with the James family.

“(Coach Stuckey) is a good person. He’s a God (fearing) man," noted James. "We’re heavy in faith and just all of the communication, all the constant calls and getting to know Braylon and us. I met him twice, he came up to the high school and we hit it off. We talked for maybe an hour, an hour and a half just getting to know each other and our families. It’s just a match made in heaven.”

For Glynn James, Stuckey brings a unique layer to the table as a person. It really is the best of both worlds as far as the fit is concerned.

“He actually has the mannerisms of Braylon’s mother," he explained. "Coach Stuckey thinks the same as my wife and that was big for Braylon also. He’s just a genuine guy, straight forward, loves Braylon and Notre Dame. We’re just happy and we’re all excited. I think we’re on the verge of a national championship in a year or two.”

With those compliments in mind, it’s hard not to get excited about Stuckey’s impact as a relationship builder. If not for that hire, there is no doubt that Braylon James would not be a member of the 2023 class for Notre Dame. They could have legitimately missed on a top 100 caliber wide receiver who comes from a family that values education, and one that is a straight A student.

“We had no conversation, no connection with the previous staff,” James said bluntly. “Like I said, we tried to get down last summer but Coach (Del) Alexander didn’t get back, he didn’t return any calls. It was just water under the bridge.

“We had visited Stanford twice and we were heavily involved in the education side of it," he continued. "That’s why Stanford was the top school at that time because they were recruiting him for a year. Education was really the main factor. It is the number one thing for us, getting that degree.”

The optimism extends across the entire Notre Dame coaching staff. Freeman has instilled a level of optimism across the entire Irish community. There appears to be no ceiling for how good this team can be during the Freeman Era.

“There’s unlimited heights,” James said of the Notre Dame program under Freeman “Just his energy, his age. He can almost relate to the players that he is recruiting. There’s only like a sixteen year difference so the energy sticks out. Not knocking other schools but you want a young vibrant head coach that can get involved in camp, get involved in the teaching.

“I think it’s a perfect fit and the landscape of college recruiting is going to change just by (Coach Freeman) being at Notre Dame,” James continued. “They are going to get those high profile kids, those high academic top athletes are going to end up at Notre Dame. They are going to be a force to be reckoned with over the next four to five years.”

You hear a lot of people poke holes on the Notre Dame program continuously. It’s constantly about the perceived struggles on the recruiting trails, academic standards, the weather… all of that. Shopping down another aisle is over. It isn’t about why recruits should choose Notre Dame.

Glynn James presented the real question perfectly.

“Why not Notre Dame? Why wouldn’t you want to be there? Think big.”

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