Love the fact that they met the Muschamp pitch head on. Love his loyalty to the school and not just a coach. And just watched a bunch of film on this guy. Holy damn!!! This kid is quick and relentless. Very Dee Ford-esque coming around the end. dot I am a gay twerker that has no balls!!!! I also have no idea how to use the quote function to post stories, so I annoy the piss out of others. I like male genatalia in and around my mouth.. You know it.
Not long after Will Muschamp left his post as Auburn's defensive coordinator to become South Carolina's head coach earlier this week, he picked up the phone and called Paul James III.
"He said I'm a really good pass rusher and that's what he wants at South Carolina," said James, who committed to Auburn on Nov. 21. "He was wondering if he had a shot at recruiting me, but I told him, 'No, I'm pretty much done with my recruitment.' I told him my heart is with Auburn and I wished him the best."
Auburn is currently on the hunt for its fifth defensive coordinator in six seasons, and James says Gus Malzahn assured him the Tigers will hire the "best coordinator for the position."
"I'm just being patient and waiting to see what's going to happen, but no matter what, we're going to make it happen," James said.
While James was looking forward to working with Muschamp on the Plains, his strongest relationship is with defensive line coach Rodney Garner, his primary recruiter. In fact, Garner gave James a heads-up that Muschamp would likely attempt to recruit him to join the Gamecocks.
"I talk to (Garner) every day, pretty much," James said. "We both understand that this is a business, and he told me when the whole thing went down that Muschamp was going to try to get me. He told me to look forward to that, so we were pretty much prepped up on everything that happened this week."
James says Tennessee continues to reach out and show interest, but he is "100 percent committed to Auburn" and is set to enroll in January. Auburn is hoping the 6-foot-4, 255-pounder can give the Tigers an immediate shot in the arm next season on the defensive line, where they continued to struggle to put pressure on opposing quarterbacks.
James appeared in five games for Illinois in 2014 and had one tackle before transferring to Copiah-Lincoln Community College in Natchez, Mississippi. He flourished with the Wolfpack this fall, finishing with 47 tackles, (35 solo) including 14 sacks for 66 yards with one recovered fumble.
James capped the 2015 season by being named the National Junior College Athletic Association's Region 23 Most Valuable Player. As a recruit, he is ranked as a three-star prospect and the nation's No. 4 defensive end and No. 24 overall prospect at the JUCO level in the 247Sports Composite.
"He had a great year," said Glenn Davis, head coach at Copiah-Lincoln. "I think one of the things he did well for us was rush the passer. At times he dominant against the run and pass. There's always a transition period, so there will be some things he'll have to go through but I know Coach Rodney will do a good job getting him ready to play. He's an athletic, fast guy."
Aside from Garner, one of James' biggest recruiters at Auburn was Carlton Davis, who currently stars at defensive back for the Tigers. James and Davis played high school football together at Miami-Norland.
"(Davis) told me if I come with the mindset of coming in to work every day I would have a good shot at starting," James said. "The coaches are going to play me if I prove myself. We're pretty much on the same page. It reminds us of when we were playing together, so that's what we're looking forward to — being on the field together at the same time."
James plans to attend Auburn's first bowl practice on Monday. He is one of six defensive linemen committed in Auburn's 2016 recruiting class, a list that includes Nick Coe, Marlon Davidson, Tashawn Manning, David Marshall and Daquan Newkirk.
"I want to get the playbook as quick as I can, watch a lot of film and get caught up and just take it one day at a time and not over-stress myself," James said. "I'm just ready to move on to the next level now."
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