Skip to main content
Inside The Huskies

Anthony James Learning His Trade in UW Spring Ball

The highly regarded freshman has had to learn to be a communicator.
Dan Raley|
Anthony James Learning His Trade in UW Spring Ball
Anthony James Learning His Trade in UW Spring Ball

In this story:

Washington Huskies

Anthony James, the prized player from the University of Washington's latest recruiting class, always has been at the front of the line in his football pursuits. 

Welcome to the college game, where it matters little if you were a 4-star prospect coming in or once committed to Texas A&M.

Nine spring practices into his Husky career, the 6-foot-4, 264-pound James from Lavon, Texas, is paying some dues in a highly talented edge-rusher position group. It's a mental challenge for the freshman rather than a physical ordeal. He's had a lot of stuff to learn in a hurry.

"There's a lot of communication that needs to be communicated," UW edge coach Eric Schmidt said. "You've got to talk at that spot and feel really, really confident in what you're doing, and I think that's something he's never had to do before."

That said, Schmidt indicated the big Texan might have enjoyed his best practice in a UW football uniform on Monday morning during the 9-on-7 and pass-rush segments.

"He's starting to figure it and play a little bit faster," Schmidt said."A lot of those guys are just so nervous about making mistakes early on, they don't want to be that guy. Just cut it loose. We'll correct all that stuff on film. We need you to play hard, No. 1, right now."

James finds himself on the depth chart well behind starters Bralen Trice and Zion Tupuola-Fetui. There's even plenty of space between him and veterans Maurice Heims, Sav'ell Smalls and Lance "Showtime" Holtzclaw, though the latter two players emerged from last Friday's workout with health issues that prevented them from practicing on Monday while Heims was cleared that day to resume all football activities after suffering a neck injury at the outset of spring ball. 

The fluid James moves real well for a big man, which makes him an intriguing player, certainly one potentially capable of being disruptive in more than one role.

Will he end up as an edge rusher or move inside and flourish with his quickness in what's known as a three-technique in a stance just out the offensive guard's shoulder?

It's too early to make that determination now with James. Still, he reminds people of the late Reggie Rogers, who came off the UW basketball team and first transitioned into a scary edge rusher before becoming an even more dominant All-America defensive tackle. Rogers, who died in 2013, turned all of that into becoming a seventh overall selection for the Detroit Lions in the 1987 NFL draft.

"Let's let mother nature takes it's course with him," Schmidt said of James, "and see what happens."

Go to si.com/college/washington to read the latest Inside the Huskies stories — as soon as they’re published.

Not all stories are posted on the fan sites.

Find Inside the Huskies on Facebook by searching: Inside Huskies/FanNation at SI.com or https://www.facebook.com/dan.raley.12

Follow Dan Raley of Inside the Huskies on Twitter: @DanRaley1 or @UWFanNation or @DanRaley3

Have a question, direct message me on Facebook or Twitter.

Loading recommendations... Please wait while we load personalized content recommendations

Published
Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

Home/Football