Former IU football running back Sampson James was recognized on the street in Austin, Texas by an individual named Jasper Steinmetz.
James had been homeless in Austin for seven months, he said in an Instagram post by Steinmetz.
Steinmetz recognized the IU Athletics bag James was carrying and struck up a conversation.
Since then, Steinmetz started a GoFundMe and has helped James get clothing, food and other essentials.
Several former Indiana players have donated to the cause, including Mike Katic, Peyton Hendershot, Aaron Casey and CJ West.
Steinmetz reported on Saturday he had secured a place to live for James utilizing the money raised, which totaled more than $16,000 as of Saturday evening.
The first Instagram post by Steinmetz is below. If you go to his Instagram page you can see a series of posts over the last few days, culminating in Saturday’s news of securing a rental for James.
View this post on Instagram
THE GOFUNDME FOR JAMES IS HERE.
James attended Avon H.S. just west of Indianapolis. He was a highly coveted 4-star recruit.
Once an Ohio State verbal pledge, James committed to IU as part of the class of 2019. He had his best game as a Hoosier as a freshman in 2019 at Purdue, amassing 118 yards on 22 carries in an IU win.
James was once the top-rated IU recruit in the rankings era, but beyond that game at Purdue, he contributed just 91 carries for 253 yards during his two seasons at IU.
James put his name in the transfer portal in March of 2020 before deciding to stay in Bloomington. He then transferred to Purdue after the 2021 season, and returned to IU briefly as a walk-on in the spring of 2023 but was not on the fall roster.
Here was James following the biggest game of his college career at Purdue. In six years he was homeless.
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