Make that Ohio State 1, Indiana 1. Okay, maybe not, but this is big news — and IU running back coach Mike Hart continues to pull in big talent for the Hoosier football program.
Earlier in the day on Sunday rumors were circulating that Avon, Indiana native Sampson James had decommitted from Ohio State.
It didn’t take long for him to clarify where he was heading. Apparently the former Buckeye commit liked what he saw from the Hoosiers yesterday in Columbus.
STAYING HOME🔴⚪️🔴⚪️‼️ pic.twitter.com/MUWsF91rRj
— Sampson (@Sjames_2) October 7, 2018
The 6-foot-1, 211-pound James is ranked by the 247Sports Composite as the nation’s No. 8 running back. According to that recruiting service, he is the highest-ranked recruit to commit to Indiana dating back to 2010.
Along with fellow 2019 commit Beau Robbins (Carmel, IN), IU has secured commitments from two of the top four ranked players in the Hoosier state and are still in the running for a third. Warren Central wide receiver David Bell is the No. 2 ranked player in Indiana and has an official visit to IU scheduled in December.
In addition to the Buckeyes, James is choosing Indiana over a number of college football blue bloods including Florida State, Georgia, Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Penn State, and Tennessee among others.
Through eight games at Avon, James has 173 rushes for 1,011 yards and 10 touchdowns. For his junior season he went for 1,782 yards on 243 carries and scored 20 touchdowns.
Sampson appears to be ready to break a trend of his talented brothers leaving the Hoosier state for college football.
Three of James’ older brothers — Elijah Daniel (Auburn defensive end), Armonze James (Marshall linebacker) and Montez Robinson (Georgia defensive end) — each played FBS football. A fourth, Matthew James, plays defensive tackle at FCS Indiana State.
James has a younger brother (Nathaniel) in the class of 2020 that is a defensive lineman and also holds an offer from Indiana.
You can see the latest 2019 team class rankings and the full list of IU verbal commits here.
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