Craig James

Jesse Craig James (born January 2, 1961) is an American former professional football player and sports commentator.

He was a running back for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL) and for the Washington Federals of the United States Football League (USFL).

He then became a commentator for the ABC and ESPN television networks.

James was born in Jacksonville, Texas, in 1961 and grew up in the Houston area.

When he was in the first grade, his parents divorced and he moved with his mother and brother (former Major League Baseball player Chris James) to Pasadena, Texas.

James has talked about growing up witnessing his mother being abused and struggling financially to support her sons.

James attended Stratford High School in Houston, where he was a star running back on their 1978 Texas class 4A championship football team, setting the single-season Texas 4A rushing record with 2,411 yards gained in 15 games.

James also played on his high school baseball team and was offered a contract by the New York Yankees out of high school to play first base in the minor leagues, but chose to pursue a football career instead.

James was heavily recruited out of high school and decided to attend Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.

James stated that he decided on SMU because his girlfriend at the time (and future wife), Marilyn, was already a freshman student there.

Parade 's national high school running back of the year, Eric Dickerson, as well as a large number of blue-chip recruits, also signed with SMU in 1979.

The star running-back tandem was known as "The Pony Express", and the tandem would alternate possessions throughout their four-year careers at SMU.

In his freshman year in 1979, James proved more reliable than Dickerson, outgaining him 761 yards to 477, and was named the Southwest Conference's Offensive Newcomer of the Year.

In the 1980 Holiday Bowl (later known as the "Miracle Bowl"), James ran for 225 rushing yards and 9.9 yards/carry in a losing effort, records that stood for 13 and 15 years respectively.

James played on the 1981 SMU team that won the Southwest Conference title while being on NCAA probation as a result of recruiting violations dating back to the mid-1970s.

Though the pair continued to alternate possessions at tailback, by 1982 Dickerson had established himself as the featured back, as he carried 232 times for 1,617 yards while James carried 197 times for 938 yards.

James took over punting duties midway through the season after the regular punter was injured, and finished sixth in the nation in punting.

That year, he also scored on a 96-yard touchdown reception to set a record as the longest scoring play in Southwest Conference history.

In later years, SMU was further caught up in the Southern Methodist University football scandal, which involved payments to players in the 1983 recruiting class, with such payments improperly continuing while SMU was again on probation in 1985 and 1986.

After his senior season, James was drafted by the Washington Federals of the USFL with the fourth overall pick in the spring league's inaugural draft in 1983.

James signed with the Federals for a series of four guaranteed one-year deals.

He stated that he decided to join the USFL rather than the NFL because of a desire to be a "pioneer" in a new league, similar to what he and Dickerson did at SMU.

Despite already having been signed to the Federals, the New England Patriots, who were coached by James' former SMU coach Ron Meyer, drafted the rights to James in the seventh round of the 1983 NFL Draft.

James' first pro season in Washington saw the Federals struggle to a 4–10 record.

He started all 14 games and rushed for 823 yards and four touchdowns, and caught 40 passes out of the backfield.

The following year, James suffered a knee injury on March 4, 1984, in a home game against the Philadelphia Stars.

He was placed on injured reserve later that week.

James was released by the cash-strapped Federals a month later, allowing him to join the Patriots for their training camp in August.

In James' first year with the Patriots in the 1984 season, he was initially a backup to Tony Collins under his old coach Meyer.

When Meyer was fired after a 5–3 start to the season, new coach Raymond Berry made James the starting running back, and James finished the year as the Patriots' leading rusher with 790 yards.

In the 1985 season, James started at running back all season, rushing for 1,227 yards, and was selected for the Pro Bowl.

As a result of the repeated violations, SMU received the "death penalty" from the NCAA, shutting down the program in 1987 and 1988.

Neither James' recruitment nor his participation in the SMU football program was cited by the NCAA in levying sanctions against SMU.

He was the last white player to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a season until Peyton Hillis reached that mark in 2010.

In Week 2 against the Chicago Bears, he caught a 90-yard touchdown pass from Tony Eason, which was the longest touchdown from scrimmage in Patriots history at the time.

He was a major factor in the Patriots' 31–14 upset win over the Miami Dolphins in the AFC title game, rushing for a career postseason high of 105 yards.

However, he was dominated by the Chicago Bears' defense in Super Bowl XX, which held him to only one yard on five carries.

James ran for a seat in the U.S. Senate in Texas in 2012, but lost in the first round of the Republican primary.

In 2012, James admitted to having received what he called "an insignificant amount" of improper gifts while playing at SMU.

He has always denied that improper financial inducements had anything to do with his decision to attend SMU.