Javarris James (born September 18, 1987) is a former

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 ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

. He was signed by 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 ...

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 ...

in 2010. 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 the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...

. He has also been a member of the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

and

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

. He is the younger cousin of NFL Hall of Fame running back

Edgerrin James Edgerrin Tyree James (; born August 1, 1978) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. He played college football at the University of Miami ...

, who also played college football in Miami and later for the Colts.

Early years

James attended

Immokalee High School Immokalee High School is the only public high school located in Immokalee, Florida. It is a heavily cultured area encompassing ethnicities of Hispanic-decent, Haitian (and Haitian-American) descent, and African American descent. Families and stu ...

Immokalee, Florida (your home) , nickname = , settlement_type = Census-designated place , motto = , image_skyline = File:Immokalee-Zocalo Plaza 2018.jpg , imagesize = , image_caption ...

. As a freshman, James rushed for more than 800 yards and had 16 touchdowns. As a sophomore, he rushed 165 times for 1,145 yards and 14 touchdowns. He developed further as a junior, rushing 225 times for 1,658 yards and 28 touchdowns while leading the Indians to the state title. He suffered a knee injury during his senior year that kept him out of five games, but he returned to the lineup and still rushed for over 1,000 yards and 14 touchdowns. He was rated as the 13th best running back in the nation by

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

, who also rated him the 21st best overall player in Florida, while

Scout.com Scout Media is an integrated sports publishing company that produces Internet content covering hundreds of professional and college teams across America. The company was founded in 2001 and was acquired by Fox Sports in 2005. In 2013, Fox Sports ...

ranked him as the 35th best running back in the country.

ESPN.com ESPN.com is the official website of ESPN. It is owned by ESPN Internet Ventures, a division of ESPN Inc. History Since launching in April 1995 as ESPNET.SportsZone.com (ESPNET SportsZone), the website has developed numerous sections including: ...

ranked James as the 21st best running back in the nation, as well as the 144th best player in the country. The ''

Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company and headquartered in Doral, Florida, a List of communities in Miami-Dade County, Florida, city in western Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County and the M ...

'' named James as No. 4 on their Top 25 list of the state's best players, while the ''

Orlando Sentinel The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is the primary newspaper of Orlando, Florida, and the Central Florida region. It was founded in 1876 and is currently owned by Tribune Publishing Company. The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is owned by parent company, '' Tribune P ...

'' rated him as the 11th best player in the state. James was named to the PrepStar 200 as the 18th best running back, and was also rated the second best running back on ''

The Florida Times-Union ''The Florida Times-Union'' is a daily newspaper in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. Widely known as the oldest newspaper in the state, it began publication as the ''Florida Union'' in 1864. Its current incarnation started in 1883, when th ...

'' Super 75.

College career

James was heavily recruited by Miami,

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

South Florida South Florida is the southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the other two are Central Florida and North Florida. South Florida is the southernmost part of th ...

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

, and

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 ...

. James chose to follow in the footsteps of his cousin, Edgerrin James and play for Miami, where he wore the same #5 jersey his cousin wore during his days at Miami. James, as a true freshman, played in the first game of the 2006 season against rival

Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...

. Head coach

Larry Coker Larry Edward Coker (born June 23, 1948) is a former American football coach and player. He previously served as the head coach of the University of Miami and the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). Coker's 2001 Miami Hurricanes football ...

named James the starting running back by the fourth game of the season. James responded by rushing for 148 yards on 18 carries, an 8.2 yards per carry average, and a touchdown in his first college start against

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

. The 148 yards were a school record for a freshman, topping

Clinton Portis Clinton Earl Portis (born September 1, 1981) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons. He played college football for the Miami Hurricanes. He was drafted b ...

's old mark of 147 yards. In recognition of his accomplishment, James was named the

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 ...

Rookie of the Week. James broke the 100-yard barrier again in his next start, as he ran for 111 yards and a touchdown against

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 ...

. James surpassed the 100-yard mark the third time in Miami's October 28 loss to

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

, rushing for 112 yards on 19 carries. James suffered a hip pointer injury early in the first half of Miami's November 7 game against

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

. He finished his freshman season with 175 rushing attempts for 802 yards, second most in school history for a freshman, and 4 touchdowns. He caught one receiving touchdown along with 200 total receiving yards over the course of the season. As a sophomore, James was bothered by an ankle and neck injury all season long but started 12 games and managed to rush 159 times for 582 yards and 4 touchdowns, while catching 14 passes for 100 yards in his sophomore season. In 2008, as a junior, James played in nine games, starting only one, finishing with 286 yards on 62 carries and four touchdowns, missing four games due to injury. In 2009, his senior season, James started 5 of 12 games played, rushing for 492 yards and six touchdowns.

Professional career

Indianapolis Colts

After going undrafted in the

2010 NFL Draft The 2010 NFL Draft was the 75th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The 2010 draft took place over three days, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, with the firs ...

, James signed with the

on April 30, 2010. On September 4, 2010, James was waived by the Colts during final cuts.

New England Patriots

On September 6, 2010, James was signed to the

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

. He was released on October 5, 2010.

Washington Redskins

James was signed to the practice squad of the

on October 6, 2010.

Return to the Colts

On October 7, 2010, the Colts signed James off the Redskins' practice squad to their active roster. He made his NFL debut as a reserve in the Colts' Week 5 game against the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

on October 10, 2010. James scored two rushing touchdowns in the Colts' loss at the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

on November 7, 2010. James did not make the final roster for the 2011 season and was released by the Colts again on September 3, 2011.

Arizona Cardinals

On May 14, 2012, James signed with the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

Personal life

On June 9, 2011, James was arrested in

Fort Myers, Florida Fort Myers (or Ft. Myers) is a city in southwestern Florida and the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 92,245 in 20 ...

, for possession of marijuana. He was released a short time later after posting a $1,000 bond. On March 7, 2013, James was arrested for failure to appear for his previous possession of marijuana charge. He is being held with no bond. On May 12, 2017, James finished his schooling obtaining his Bachelor Degree and MBA by walking across the stage as a graduate from the University of Miami. On February 28, 2019, James opened up a training facility in Naples, FL called "JJ5 Fitness" under the LLC. of JJ5 Fitness. He continues to be one of the areas top physical trainers. Training all ages from youth to adult. James now resides in Naples, FL with his wife and children. He is a constant active member of the community. Coaching local youth football and track from ages 5-14. James has also held various youth football camps throughout the Southwest Florida area. Teaching aspiring up and coming talents technique for the game, along with the importance of hard-work, determination and discipline to succeed not only in the game of football but life itself. Using his past discretions, James continues to send a message of hope and inspiration to our local community and has become a true success story in the Southwest Florida area.

References

External links

New England Patriots bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Javarris Living people 1987 births People from Immokalee, Florida Players of American football from Florida American football running backs Miami Hurricanes football players Indianapolis Colts players New England Patriots players Washington Redskins players