University of North Carolina Athletics
My Carolina Experience: Jarrod James
May 15, 2014 | Football
By Zoya Johnson, GoHeels.com
Jarrod James came to the University of North Carolina in 2011 as one of the top ranked offensive linemen in the state of North Carolina. Though his player biography is relatively short it starts out like most Carolina athletes' with very impressive statistics.
"...Ranked the No. 8 offensive guard and the No. 7 prospect in North Carolina by Rivals.com • Considered the No. 22 offensive guard in the country by ESPNU • Ranked the No. 28 offensive guard in the country by Scout.com • Ranked the No. 35 offensive linemen in the country by SuperPrep • Member of Tom Lemming's All-America Team • Three-year starter. Member of North Carolina's Shrine Bowl team..."
James earned all of these honors in high school despite the fact that he has brachial plexus palsy, an injury that prevents him from fully extending his right arm.
"I considered several schools during my recruiting process, but many did not want to offer me a scholarship because of my brachial plexus palsy injury," says James. "Carolina, however, invested in me whole heartedly without hesitation and I appreciated that."
Without the brachial plexus palsy injury, James would have been one of the nation's top recruits but Carolina saw more than an athlete in the young offensive lineman and the coaches elected to take a risk on him.
That investment paid off as James moved up the depth chart to the backup center position entering his redshirt freshman season. He took great responsibility in his role on the team and practiced every day in case he was called upon.
"I spent every week preparing for games like I was a starter," he says. "I usually wouldn't even get to play, but that's part of the territory. It taught me a lot about responsibility and integrity, to always prepare no matter what could happen. Having that job was something I took pride in."
He played in two contests in 2012 and saw more playing time as a sophomore in 2013. Toward the end of his sophomore campaign, James' career took a sudden and devastating turn.
In the middle of the year he began experiencing tingling sensations in his fingers that turned to pain in his neck. He was diagnosed with a herniated disc in his neck that made it nearly impossible to even turn his head.
"I never thought much of the pain, just believed it was wear and tear from the game," he says. "I prided myself in being a 'ride to the wheels fall off' kind of guy, so the more battle wounds I had the better. That wasn't smart all the time, but I wanted to put on a brown lunch bag, blue collar image, and I like to think I did."
The game against Virginia on Nov. 9 would be the last game James would ever play.
The following Monday, James received news from the medical staff that his injury had resulted in a narrowing of the spinal column called spinal stenosis. That caused a lack of spinal fluid to protect the spine, and it was determined that any further football competition would be a serious threat to his health.
After consultation with his family and the UNC sports medicine staff, James elected to take a medical hardship scholarship and give up a sport he had fully dedicated himself to. James found himself trying to imagine life away from the team, without training and without something to constantly push him physically.
"It was a hard pill to swallow," he says. "I loved playing football so much. It was freeing to me. I could be a tough guy on the field, a hard guy, a fighter. Not that I was ever those things solely, but I got to let out so many emotions physically in ways that I couldn't normally do. I loved going out there with my guys on the O-line and battling together. I enjoyed the work, the training during the offseason, the film studies, constantly seeing myself improve as a player. I knew I'd never have that again."
It was a sad end to James' career on the field, but it was in no way the end of his Carolina experience.
Many athletes with the same amount of talent and drive for the game as James would have been in a crisis upon finding out his career-ending diagnosis. But James is more than just a football player, and he is intent on capitalizing on the opportunities Carolina has afforded him.
Since arriving at Carolina his GPA has never fallen below a 3.3, and just last semester he made the Dean's List. He also was recently named a UNC scholar athlete and named to the ACC Honor Roll. In addition to his academic success, James is always one of the first volunteers with the football team's community outreach efforts. On campus he has participated as a part of Carolina Athletics Projects (CAP) committee, which seeks to enhance the relationship between student-athletes and the student body. In doing so he was able to help with projects like the "white-out "game to promote school spirit and university morale.
With two years of eligibility remaining, and a need to stay close to a group of guys he had come to call his brothers, James seized an opportunity to become a student assistant coach on the offensive line.
"When Coach Kap (Kapilovic) said he would like for me to be his student-assistant coach, I jumped at the opportunity," says James. "I want do anything I can to contribute to the team and help us be a successful team and an ACC Champion. Whatever I can do for us, I want to do it to the best my abilities and with the same passion and intensity I had while I was playing."
As a student-assistant coach, James serves as a bridge between his former teammates and coach. He helps to better connect the two when a student-athlete may feel too intimated to speak on their own or simply to help players hear information in a different way and better understand it.
"Carolina has taught me independence, to take advantage of opportunity and to have fun," says James. "I am surrounded by thousands of students with dreams, goals and ways to accomplish them both, and that work ethic is contagious. The people here also enjoy life, whether it's rushing Franklin Street after a win against Duke, or a 15-minute flash rave during exam times, the people here balance work and fun. We get things done and have a good time doing it! I've learned that one simply can't just be solely focused on work alone, that the balance between work and enjoyment is a key element in life."
Though his time here at Carolina has been anything but smooth sailing, James continues to excel in all aspects at UNC and hopes those holding the University under a microscope take the time, as he does, to look at the facts of all the stories in the media and not just what they want the masses to focus on.
"We've had issues -- that's undeniable -- but if people took the time to think logically instead of falling for the shock value of the media, they'd realize that athletics at UNC is never so overarching that it undermines greater integrity of the University. When people talk to me about the affairs of the University -- especially as it pertains to athletics -- I am sure to always give them a logical answer, describing the balance between our work on and off the field."
His words are truthful and striking. They allow you take a step back and it reminds observers that the culture at Carolina speaks for itself. As a rising junior, James has plenty of time to continue growing as a coach, a student and a person.
An internship with Nike in the coming weeks will give him marketing experience that he is sure to use throughout the rest of his time on campus and potentially in his future endeavors.
"If I could take anything away from my experience at UNC thus far, it would be to always produce to the best of my abilities and to enjoy life," he says. "As I mentioned earlier, work and enjoyment are two essential elements of life, especially a professional one. My next step is a summer internship with Nike in Beaverton, Oregon, in a few weeks. It will be my first time doing something other than training for the summer, and an introduction into the professional life outside of playing football. My prayer is now that I will be able to find something, a career, that I can put the same passion and intensity that I did while playing."
It's an answer that speaks to the experiences he has had and the person he is sure to become.
