CAREER: Has appeared in 37 games with five starts…Ranks first on UF’s single-season and career punt return yards chart, with 510 yards in 2008 and 1,127 career yards…Ranked first and second in single-season kickoff return yardage, with 841 yards in 2007, 738 yards in 2008, and second in career kickoff return yardage, with 1,962 yards…Is tied for the school record for career punt returns for touchdowns (4)…Ranked third all-time in the SEC with four punt returns for touchdowns…Ranks fifth all-time in SEC history in total kick return yards, including kickoffs and punt returns, with 3,089.

 

2008: Played in all 14 games for the Gators, including four starts at running back…Named a 2008 All-American by the FWAA…Named the SEC Special Teams Player of the Year…Garnered First-Team All-American accolades by Sporting News and Phil Steele…An All-SEC selection by vote of the league’s head coaches…Also received All-American honorable mention honors from Pro Football Weekly…Returned 37 punts for 510 yards (13.8 average) and two touchdowns…Racked up 738 yards on 32 kickoff returns (23.1 average)…Also recorded 59 yards rushing and two touchdowns, and 95 yards receiving, catching his first career receiving touchdown…Helped lead Florida to its second national title in three years and its eighth SEC Championship…Set an SEC Championship Game record with five kickoff returns for 121 yards in the win over the Alabama Crimson Tide…Was one of seven players in the country to return two or more punts for touchdowns in 2008…Is one of only three players in the nation to have two punt returns for touchdowns as well as at least one receiving and one rushing touchdown…Tabbed the SEC Special Teams Player of the Week twice (Hawaii & Tennessee) after scoring on 74 and 78-yard punt returns, respectively…His 78-yard punt return against Tennessee tallied the fourth of his career, tying Jacquez Green’s UF record for punt returns for a touchdown…Caught the first receiving touchdown of his career against Arkansas on a two-yard pass from Tim Tebow…Finished the season third in the country for punt return yards per game (29.7) and is second on the NCAA active career leaders list with four punt returns for touchdowns.

 

2007: Returned kickoffs and punts…Saw action in 11 games (missing Western Kentucky and Florida Atlantic)….Started at running back vs. Auburn….Second-team All-American by Sporting News and Rivals.com as a return specialist…Was named to the All-SEC second team by the league’s coaches and Associated Press as return specialist…First-team All-SEC by Rivals.com and Lindy’s…Led the SEC and ranked second in the nation with 18.1 yards per punt return…Ranked second in the SEC and 17th nationally with an average of 28.0 kickoff yards…Led the nation with seven returns of 50 or more yards…Set school record with 841 kick off return yards and posted second-best kickoff average in school history (28.0, 28.2 by Jack Jackson in 1993 is the record)…Matched fifth-longest return in school history with his career-long 83-yard punt return for a touchdown against Tennessee – the longest punt return in the SEC for the year…Had a total of 100 or more return yards in six of 11 games…Totaled 116 yards in returns, including two returns of 50 or more yards (one punt - 53 yards and one kickoff – 52 yards) in a 49-22 win over Vanderbilt…Rushed a career-high 10 times for a net gain of 49 yards in a 51-31 win at South Carolina…Returned five kickoffs (122 yards), one punt (three yards) and rushed for 26 yards to total 151 yards against Georgia…Returned a kickoff for a career-long 61 yards in a 45-37 win at Kentucky…Returned three punts and four kickoffs for a career-high 193 yards in a 59-20 win over Tennessee…Totaled 159 yards in punt and kickoff returns in his first action of 2007 against Troy, including a 59-yard kickoff return that set up the Gators’ second touchdown…Ran track in 2007, competing at SEC Outdoor Championships and running in the 100m prelim in 10.87 seconds to finish 23rd.

 

2006: Garnered honorable mention Freshman All-America status from The Sporting News…Earned a spot on the Coaches’ Freshman All-SEC squad…Was chosen as a first-team Freshman All-American by Rivals.com, joining Percy Harvin on the list…Had 33 punt returns on the season for 363 yards (11.0 avg.) and one touchdown and had 21 kickoff returns for 383 yards (18.2 avg.)… Ranked fifth in the SEC with an 11.0-yard punt return average and was eighth in kickoff return average…370 punt return yards for the season was second best in school history…Established a single-game school record with 155 punt return yards on six returns against Western Carolina…Had a 77-yard punt return for a TD against the Catamounts, the first Gator punt returned for a score since Lito Sheppard had a 57-yarder versus South Carolina on Nov. 11, 2000…Made four punt returns for 28 yards, with a long of 11 yards and had a 33-yard kickoff return the first time he touched the ball against Ohio State in the Tostitos BCS National Championship Game…Opened the game with a career-long 38-yard kickoff return against Georgia…Totaled 37 yards on two kickoff returns against Alabama, and his 30-yard return was the longest by a Florida player last season at that time…Had his first collegiate carry and gained four yards in the matchup with the Tide… Recorded four punt returns at Tennessee for a total of 65 yards and a long of 35…The 35-yard return was the longest by a UF player since Keiwan Ratliff’s 38-yard return against Ohio in 2002 and the second-longest by a Gator since 1996 against a top-25 team (Lito Sheppard, 57 yards, 11/11/2000)…Made collegiate debut on special teams against UCF and returned the second-half kickoff 30 yards.

 

PREP: Ran for 900 yards and eight touchdowns as a senior at St. Augustine High School en route to leading the school to its first-ever Class 3A state championship…Was a team captain on that state championship squad…Also returned kicks and punts during his prep career…Earned first-team all-county (St. Johns) and first team all-conference honors as a senior…Chose Florida over Auburn, Louisville, Penn State and South Carolina.

 

PERSONAL: Was born Dec. 21, 1987.

 

MAJOR: Sociology

 

CAREER RUSHING STATISTICS

Year    No.    Yds    Avg.   TDs Long

2006     3       1      0.3       0       4

2007    24    133    5.5       0      14

2008    14     59     4.2       2      13

Totals: 41    193    4.7       2      14

 

CAREER RECEIVING STATISTICS

Year    No.    Yds    Avg.   TDs Long

2007     8      69     8.6       0      26

2008    11     95     8.6       1      22

Totals: 19    164    8.6       1      26

 

CAREER  KICK RETURN STATISTICS

Year    No.    Yds    Avg.   TDs Long

2006    21    383   18.2      0      38

2007    30    841   28.0      0      61

2008    32    738   23.1      0      52

Totals: 83   1,962  23.6      0      61

 

CAREER PUNT RETURN STATS

Year    No.    Yds    Avg.   TDs Long

2006    33    363   11.0      1      77

2007    14    254   18.1      1      83

2008    37    510   13.8      2      78

Totals: 84  1,127 13.4     4      83

 

JAMES’ CAREER HIGHS

Rushing Attempts: 10 (South Carolina, 2007)

Rushing Yards: 49 (South Carolina, 2007)

Rushing TDs: 1 (2x, last Kentucky, 2008)

Longest Rush: 14 (vs. South Carolina, 2007)

Receptions: 4 (Miami, 2008)

Receiving Yards: 30 (Miami, 2008)

Receiving TDs: 1 (Arkansas, 2008)

Longest Reception: 22 (Miami, 2008)

Punt Returns: 6 (2x, last South Carolina, 2008)

Punt Return Yardage: 155 (Western Carolina, 2006)

Longest Punt Return: 83 (Tennessee, 2007)

Kickoff Returns: 4 (Tennessee, 2007)

Kickoff Return Yardage: 127 (Troy, 2007)

Longest Kickoff Return: 66 (Kentucky, 2007)