Texas signee Darius James - Bud Elliott (SB Nation)
The Oklahoma Sooners tried to make a late push with the 2013 Under Armour All-American, but came up short.
The Texas Longhorns added a big piece to their 2013 offensive line class when Killeen (Texas) Harker Heights offensive lineman Darius James signed and faxed his letter of intent to the Longhorns on Wednesday morning.
James had been committed to Texas for nearly a year after turning down numerous other offers and giving his pledge while taking in the Longhorns at a spring practice.
The 6'5, 330-pound James participated in the 2013 Under Armour All-American game, where he impressed with his ability to hold his own at times at offensive tackle, despite projecting as an interior lineman in college. James earned the start at left tackle for his team and was effective, despite carrying some excess weight gained after he missed most of his senior season because of a broken foot sustained at the end of the first half of his first game last fall.
A center for Harker Heights (as well as a defensive tackle and defensive end), James could play any of the three interior positions for the Longhorns. In high school, he rarely saw players lined up at nose tackle, so he was consistently able to show off his agility at the second level taking on smaller defenders. For someone his size, it's truly remarkable how well he can move despite carrying extra weight. Other than his movement ability, James impresses with his flexibility, coming off the ball low and hard consistently to win leverage battles.
Ratings: 247Sports composite ranking five-star, top-ranked offensive guard, 34th overall nationally
Vitals: 6'5, 330 pounds
Other offers: Arkansas, Baylor, Florida, Florida State, LSU, Mississippi State, Nebraska, Oklahoma, SMU, TCU, Texas A&M
Twitter: @_killeenchosen1
Recruitment timeline: James received his Texas offer at the first Junior Day in early February, committed to the Longhorns in March, took his official visit in December, and never strong considered taking any other visits.
Highlight video:
Darius James (junior highlights) (via 247SportsStudio)
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