Andre James (born May 2, 1997) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

for the

Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West divis ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

Early life and high school

James grew up in

South Jordan, Utah South Jordan is a city in south central Salt Lake County, Utah, United States, south of Salt Lake City. Part of the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, the city lies in the Salt Lake Valley along the banks of the Jordan River between the Oquirrh ...

, and attended

Herriman High School Herriman High School (HHS) is a public high school in Herriman, Utah, United States. It is a part of the Jordan School District and serves students from the cities of Herriman, South Jordan, and Riverton. The school is a two-level facility, sit ...

, where he was a member of the football and track and field teams. He was named first-team All-State as a senior at offensive tackle. James was also a three time class 5A state champion in the shot put. He was rated a four-star recruit and committed to play college football at UCLA over offers from Oregon, USC, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Utah.

College career

James was a member of the

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pac-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). ...

, redshirting his true freshman season. He became a starter during his redshirt freshman season following an injury to

Kolton Miller Kolton Daniel Miller (born October 9, 1995) is an American football offensive tackle for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at UCLA. College career After redshirting in 2014, Miller made his ...

. James started the final 32 games of his collegiate career, appearing in 35 games total. As a redshirt junior, he made the decision to play in the Bruins' week seven game against Arizona and continue his consecutive games started streak despite his father passing away of cancer earlier that week. James declared for the NFL Draft on December 18, 2018, forgoing his final season of NCAA eligibility.

Professional career

James signed with the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

on May 3, 2019. He made his NFL debut on September 9, 2019, against the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

. He made his first career start at center in Week 9 in place of the injured Rodney Hudson. James appeared in 12 games with one start as a rookie. On March 22, 2021, the Raiders signed James to a three-year, $12.5 contract extension through the 2023 season.

References

External links

UCLA Bruins profileLas Vegas Raiders bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Andre 1997 births Living people People from Herriman, Utah Players of American football from Utah American football offensive tackles UCLA Bruins football players Las Vegas Raiders players Oakland Raiders players