James Laurinaitis
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[edit] Biography
[edit] High School
James was born in Hamel, MN and attended Wayzata High School in Plymouth, MN. There, James captained both the hockey and football teams his senior year. In football, James led his team to the Minnesota 5A state championship game while racking up 193 tackles (including 28 for a loss) and five sacks his senior season. He was named Minnesota's Defensive Mr. Football in 2004 and became the first scholarship player for the Buckeyes from the state of Minnesota since Sid Gillman in 1930. James also led his hockey team to the state tournament in 2004 and was considered to be a possible 2nd or 3rd round pick in the NHL draft.
[edit] Freshmen Year
James lettered in 2005 as a freshmen playing in all 12 games and recording nine tackles. After working his way up the depth chart, he saw significant playing time in the final game of the season against Michigan when senior Bobby Carpenter suffered a broken ankle on the first play of the game. James would eventually make the final tackle of that game and go on to start in the Fiesta Bowl against Notre Dame.
[edit] Sophomore Year
In 2006, James made the move from outside linebacker to middle linebacker for the Buckeyes and rewarded the coaches with an outstanding season. He led the team in tackles with 115 and interceptions with five while also recording four sacks and eight and a half tackles for loss, and three forced fumbles. James eventually went on to win the Nagurski Award as the nation's best defensive player as well as being a finalist for the Butkus and Bednarik awards. James would end up being named first team All-Big Ten and first team Walter Camp and Football Writers Association of America All-American.
His finest game in 2006 was arguably the Buckeyes' victory at then No. 2 Texas. In that game James had his first career interception, thirteen tackles and forced two fumbles, one being at the goal line of Ohio State. The pick and one of the forced fumbles led to 10 points for the Buckeyes on their way to a 24-7 victory. For his efforts in the game, James was named Big Ten defensive player of the week and earned the team weekly defensive honors.
Laurinaitis would eventually help lead the Buckeyes to an undefeated regular season and the BCS National Championship game against the University of Florida
[edit] Junior Year
In 2007 James turned in another stellar year that earned him the Butkus Award as the nation's best linebacker and a repeat selection as a Walter Camp All-American. Laurinaitis became only the second Buckeye linebacker ever to win the Butkus, with Andy Katzenmoyer first bringing the prize home to Columbus in 1997. As a true junior James led the nation's top defensive unit (OSU was ranked 1st in points and yards allowed) with 103 tackles (8.5 for loss) and also added five sacks and two interceptions. He also set a career high with 19 tackles against Wisconsin. Along with winning the Butkus in 2007, James was a finalist for the Nagurski, Bednarik, Lombardi and Lott awards.
His outstanding play helped the Buckeyes reach the BCS National Championship game for the second consecutive year, this time against LSU. It is unclear whether James will return for his senior season or not. Most scouts and draft experts rank James as the #1 inside linebacker prospect and he is a projected first round pick in the 2008 draft.
[edit] Scouting Report
Along with possessing ideal size and strength to be a run stopper up the middle, Laurinaitis posses excellent speed that allows him to make tackles sideline to sideline. The last two years he has also shown off an ability to drop into pass coverage (7 career INTs and 3 career pass breakups) that will be as much a factor for his success in the NFL as anything. James is very much in the same mold as A.J. Hawk, a former Buckeye linebacker and player under whom James studied as a freshmen at Ohio State, although some question whether he possesses Hawk's natural physical gifts. However, James' explosion on to the scene in 2006 as a true sophomore are a sign of his ability to work hard in the off season (he put on 10 lbs. of muscle from '05 to '06 to help with the move to inside linebacker) and his intelligence. Laurinaitis has an incredible motor that allows him to make plays all over the field, is excellent at shedding blocks, and has great instincts and play recognition abilities.
[edit] Statistics
[edit] Awards
- Minnesota's Defensive Mr. Football as a high school senior
- 2006 Bronko Nagurski Award winner as the nation's best defensive player
- 2006 Butkus Award and Bednarik Award finalist
- 2006 first team All-Big Ten
- 2006 Walter Camp First Team All-American
- 2006 Football Writers Association of America First Team All-American
- 2006 Randy Gradishar Linebacker Award (team award)
- 2007 Butkus Award winner as the nation's top linebacker
- 2007 Walter Camp First Team All-American
- 2007 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year
- 2007 Lombardi Award, Nagurski Award, Lott Trophy and Bednarik Award finalist
- 2007 AFCA Coaches' First Team All-American
- 2007 Sporting News First Team All-American
- 2007 Football Writers Association of America First Team All-American
[edit] Trivia
- Led the Buckeyes in tackles (115) and interceptions (5) in 2006
- Father is Joe "the Animal" Laurinaitis of the wrestling tag-team The Road Warriors. His uncles Marcus (The Terminator) and John (Johnny Aces) were also professional wrestlers.
- Made the final tackle of the 2005 OSU-Michigan game that sealed a 25-21 victory for the Buckeyes. It was his only tackle of the game.
[edit] Video Gallery
[edit] Picture Gallery
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