One of the many things I’ve noticed in my three plus seasons covering Florida football is that every athlete has a different path to success. Some players are more prepared than others to contribute early. Some need to add weight, muscle, and speed before they hit the field. Others lack the technique and fundamentals to play as a freshman.
As a top 100 recruit in the 2023 recruiting class, many expected edge rusher Kamran James to make an immediate impact in Gainesville. That wasn’t exactly the case as James logged just 77 defensive snaps as a freshman. The 6’6, 270-pound Orlando native primarily played basketball growing up and juggled both sports throughout high school, which led to a difficult transition into SEC football.
“It definitely was a tough transition at first, coming to college early and being a young guy here, especially coming from basketball. It was a big adjustment,” James said.
It wasn’t until late in James’ freshman season when he fell in love with the grind.
“I’ll say around the second half of that 2023 season when I realized I wasn’t good enough yet, but I was still traveling and getting reps. At that point, I started training, taking my reps to prepare for last season [2024]. I was intentional with everything, knowing it was going to payoff on the back end,” James said.
Despite early struggles at UF, James kept a positive attitude, leaning on a message from his dad, Eric James, who coached him throughout his childhood.
“You’ve just got to put your head down and grind. Don’t be entitled,” James said on his father’s message.
“It’s humbling for sure, but it’s all a part of it,” James added. “I feel like I have never been an entitled person, so for me it may be easier than it can be for the next person. I have a great support system, so they made it easy.”
James looked to be on a fast track to stardom in year two, starting the first four games of the 2024 season for Florida. Things changed as the Gators’ defense struggled mightily. Edge rusher Tyreak Sapp eventually replaced James as the starting ‘F’.
“You can’t take it too personally,” James said. “He got the hot hand. He found his way. I was young. Yes, I was producing, but he became the No. 1 ranked pass rusher in the nation – the highest grade on PFF. Envy can be the death of players.”
In today’s day and age of college football, that could have been the final straw for a young and talented defender.
“I could have hit the portal. You can’t do that, you got to stay down and grind,” James said. “Just the same way as Sapp was an older player, and I started over him, he could have easily, ‘OK, I’m not going to do this. I’m not going for this.’ But he didn’t do that. He stayed down. I feel like both of us, having started so many games, just raised competitiveness in the room as a whole.”
“I believe in coming into a school and staying down and I never planned on entering the portal,” James added. “But it definitely does feel rewarding when you have a team that’s build on principles and is actually a family. It’s not a portal team. We actually have core beliefs here as a family and it’s different when you got older guys that’s been here for the longest. And you got younger guys coming in, it’s kind of the same thing being sprinkled down from the older generations. It’s like being here with family versus being here with coworkers. So, I definitely feel like it’s rewarding.”
Entering year three, James has received high praise from head coach Billy Napier and strength and conditioning coach Tyler Miles.
“He’s one of the best football players that we have,” Napier said during fall camp.
James was the first player mentioned when Miles was asked about standout players this summer.
“Kam James had a phenomenal summer in a lot of ways, just as a leader as a whole. Very vocal, led by example. He just really took on that leadership role,” Miles said.
At 6’6, 270 pounds, James recorded a 38.5″ standing vertical this summer, the highest in Florida’s edge room. That number would have ranked 4th at the 2025 NFL combine among defensive end / edge rushers and tied for 19th in NFL combine history.
“I feel like my football IQ, play strength and play recognition is probably gonna be my biggest things that change,” James said on the jump he’s made. “So that affects play speed and production heavily, so I think that’s going to be a huge game changer for me.”
It’s been a long, gratifying journey for James, who appears to have positioned himself for a breakout junior season in 2025.
“It’s amazing, but I say it’s all part of the plan,” James said. “I was a leader on every team I’ve ever been on and I believe in stand down until you come up. But I knew once my opportunity came, I was going to take onto it and I’m not going to let go. It was just a long time coming.”