James Skalski (born February 2, 1998) 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 ...

coach and former

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

. He is currently a coach for the Oklahoma Sooners football program. He last played for the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

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 ...

at Clemson.

Early years

Skalski attended Northgate High School in

Newnan, Georgia Newnan is a city in Metro Atlanta and the county seat of Coweta County, Georgia, about southwest of Atlanta. Its population was 42,549 at the 2020 census, up from 33,039 in 2010. History Newnan was established as county seat of Coweta Coun ...

, where he played soccer as well as linebacker and punter on the gridiron. As a junior, he was limited to seven games due to a thumb injury but had 78 tackles and three sacks, earning All-County honors. Skalski recorded 170 tackles as a senior including 33 tackles for loss, 11 sacks, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, an interception and two defensive touchdowns. He was named the Region 4-AAAAA Defensive Player of the Year. In February 2015, Skalski committed to Clemson over offers from Louisville, Marshall, Ole Miss,

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

UCF The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State University ...

and Wake Forest.

College career

As a freshman in 2016, Skalski had 14 tackles, with eight tackles coming on special teams plays. He recorded 37 tackles, including two tackles for loss as a sophomore while starting two games. Skalski redshirted the 2018 season after sustaining an injury in preseason practice. Due to a new NCAA rule, he was able to return at the end of the season while keeping his redshirt and helped Clemson win the national championship. As a redshirt junior in 2019, Skalski was second on the team with 105 tackles, including 7.5 for loss, as well as 4.5 sacks, four pass breakups, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. He was named to the All-

ACC ACC most often refers to: * Atlantic Coast Conference, an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic conference located in the US *American College of Cardiology, A US-based nonprofit medical association that bestows credentials upon cardiovascular spec ...

Academic Team. In the

2020 College Football Playoff National Championship The 2020 College Football Playoff National Championship was a college football bowl game that determined a national champion in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision for the 2019 season. It was played at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome ...

against LSU, he had six tackles, a sack and a pass breakup, but was ejected due to a targeting penalty. Coming into his senior season, Skalski was named to the Butkus Award watchlist. He focused on improving his diet by cutting out junk food and lowering his sugar intake. On October 24, 2020, Skalski missed the game against

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

with a groin injury during practice. After an MRI revealed more significant damage which required surgery, he was ruled out for several weeks. Skalski returned in the win against

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

on November 28. He was ejected in the

Sugar Bowl The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed onl ...

for targeting after lowering his helmet into the body of

Justin Fields Justin Skyler Fields (born March 5, 1999) is an American football quarterback for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). Following a stint with Georgia, he played college football at Ohio State, where he twice won Graham–Ge ...

in the second quarter of a 49–28 loss to

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

College statistics

Professional career

Skalski signed with the

as an undrafted free agent on May 13, 2022. He was released from the Colts on August 31, 2022.

Coaching career

Skalski announced that he was joining

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

as a coach on January 22, 2023.

Personal life

Skalski is the son of John and Sherri Skalski. His older sister Brenna played softball at

Georgia State Georgia state or ''variation'', may refer to: Primarily * Georgia State University ("State", "Georgia State"), a state university * Georgia (U.S. state) ("Georgia state"), a state of the United States of America Sports * sports teams of Georgia St ...

. Skalski's father died of a heart attack on October 14, 2016, while mowing the lawn. Skalski missed Clemson's following game against NC State. He got a tattoo on his left bicep that says, "War like the warrior you are," based on a quote of his father's.

References

External links

Clemson Tigers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Skalski, James 1998 births Living people Players of American football from Coweta County, Georgia Sportspeople from the Atlanta metropolitan area American football linebackers Clemson Tigers football players Indianapolis Colts players Oklahoma Sooners football coaches