Notre Dame's Combination Of History, Education And Excellence Were It For Braylon James

It might have taken longer than it should have, but once Notre Dame began to focus on Braylon James, the connection with the Round Rock (Texas) Stony Point standout and the Fighting Irish was crystal clear.

Notre Dame's rich history on the football field combined with its elite educational opportunities to make it the perfect fit for the entire James family. From a historical standpoint, that was a big factor for Glynn James, the father of the Top 100 standout wide receiver.

“Back in my day, I was a big Notre Dame fan,” Glynn James explained. “I played quarterback so Tony Rice was my guy. I don’t know if you remember but I grew up in New Orleans. My neighbor, Donald Royal, used to play basketball at Notre Dame in the 1980s. We grew up together and that’s how I really started to get to know Notre Dame, because he attended the school.”

Along the way there were various programs linked heavily to James, seeming to be rumored as front runners throughout the process. As it turns out, the family always wanted Notre Dame to get in the race. For a while, that just didn’t seem to be in the cards.

Right in the University of Texas’ backyard, the Longhorns were one of the schools rumored to be a big player for James. With proximity and family ties present, the relationship made sense. His father quickly dispelled interest from their side.

“When this process first started, even before (Braylon) had one offer, he was saying that he was leaving (Texas). He didn’t want to stay here,” James said. “He wanted to go experience life and grow. He wanted to try and make it on his own, make it as a young man.”

Still, there were rumors present that there was some pressure on Braylon to stay in the Lone Star State to play his college ball. That was again dismissed quickly.

“That wasn’t a pressure,” explained James. “Not knocking Texas but they didn’t really pursue him like people think they did. We never even had a conversation with the head coach. We had no interaction with anyone on that staff.

"That was just an offer for Braylon and he went up there a couple of times,” James continued. “There was no mutual interest. My oldest daughter graduated from there on Saturday and they didn’t even know that.”

Another school who was rumored to be a huge player in the recruitment was LSU. His father is originally from New Orleans and they had several family members who attended the university. It was a family school of sorts.

That was quickly dismissed after he visited campus. It just wasn’t the right fit for the talented pass catcher.

Academics have always been extremely important to the James family. With Notre Dame's previous staff all but ignoring James before the transition, the other top academic football program was in a strong early position.

Before Stuckey and Notre Dame threw their hat back into the ring, Braylon was set to commit to Stanford. The reason Notre Dame was so quick to turn around is that academics is extremely important, but not at the expense of football success. That's what makes Notre Dame so unique.

“Not knocking Stanford but the football has looked like it’s been on the decline,” James explained. “The education and football work hand in hand at Notre Dame. I was kinda pointing him in that direction. It really is a perfect fit for Braylon and my family.”

In the end, James' talent was good enough to end up anywhere. The Notre Dame fit, however, always just made too much sense.

“Braylon could have gone to Georgia, he could have gone to LSU, he had Ohio State, there were all these schools pursuing him,” said James. “For us, it wasn’t about (just) football. It was about education and football. At Notre Dame, you can get the best of both worlds.”

When the James family visited South Bend back in March, that was the final step to solidify Notre Dame as the pick. The staff obviously hit that final step out of the park. For Glynn James, he didn’t need to see anything special on campus. He was already sold.

“I didn’t care what the campus looked like,” he said. “It’s Notre Dame. It’s the Mecca of football.”

“The first day we got there, in the hotel, he told us that he was loving it there,” James continued. “He told us that he felt it and he loves it. He wanted to pull the trigger and I told him let’s do it! We were all ready to get it over with.”

The full scope of the program was the major sell to the James family. It wasn’t one part of what the program could be. It was the full scope.

“The 4 for 40 speaks for itself. Just by Braydon committing, I’m meeting so many people,” James explained. “We’re at track meets, and I’m always in my Notre Dame gear, people who are graduates of Notre Dame walk up to me. There’s guys giving me cards if we need anything. It’s just the networking at Notre Dame. It’s just a bunch of genuine football.”

As is the case for the majority of recruits who end up with the Irish, the education and culture can be as big a sell as football. The James family saw the full picture during this recruitment.

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