LOGAN, Utah – Micah James coaches football as a way of giving back to the youth.
In his hardest moments as a young collegiate athlete, it was his coaches that guided him and helped him make something more of his life. Now, as Utah State's newly-hired offensive line coach, he's in a position to pay it forward.
James comes to Utah State after spending the past two years as the co-offensive line coach at Massachusetts. He has also served as an offensive graduate assistant at UCF (2018) and Maryland (2017), was the run game coordinator and offensive line coach at Faulkner University (2016) and spent two seasons as a graduate assistant at Arkansas State (2014-15). In his seven seasons as a collegiate coach, James has been a part of two conference championship teams and coached in three bowl games.
Under James in 2020, UMass had two offensive linemen garner accolades in Larnel Colemen and Dalton Tomlison. Coleman earned a spot on the Outland Trophy Watch List, given annually to the top interior lineman in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), and garnered Phil Steele all-Independent honors, while Tomlison was selected to the Rimington Trophy Watch List, which annually honors the top center in the FBS. During James' first season at Massachusetts, the offensive line unit cut down on their sacks allowed by 69.2 percent, despite replacing four starters from the year prior and suffering numerous injuries that led to nine different players starting.
At UCF, James helped the Knights to a No. 11 national ranking and a 12-1 record as they swept their eight-game American Athletic Conference schedule, won the AAC Championship game and earned a spot in the Fiesta Bowl. At season's end, four O-linemen for the Golden Knights earned all-AAC honors, including three landing on the first team.
During his one season with the Terrapins, James worked on the offensive side of the ball and assisted in the development of receiver D.J. Moore. With James' help, Moore earned first-team all-Big Ten honors and ranked ninth in the country in receptions per game (6.7).
James arrived at Arkansas State after completing an all-Sun Belt Conference playing career at Middle Tennessee in 2012, which was followed by an invitation to participate in the Atlanta Falcons' and Dallas Cowboys' rookie mini-camps in 2013.
As a player, James started his college career at Georgia Military (2009-10) before transferring to Middle Tennessee for his junior and senior seasons (2011-12). During his senior season at Middle Tennessee, James was voted one of five permanent team captains and selected first-team all-Sun Belt after helping the Blue Raiders to an 8-4 regular season record.
We recently caught up with James for a Q&A.
Q: Talk about the first few months on the job and what the transition has been like?
James: It's actually been really good. It's great when you come into a place where you know people already. Having relationships on the staff on the offensive side, then adding some new guys in operations, it's made it easier for the transition. The people in town have been great. It wasn't hard for me to find a place to stay, they've been overly accommodating, so that's been really nice.
Q: Can you talk about the offensive staff and how that group is gelling?
James: It's been good from the standpoint that we all have a background in this offense in some way. The guys that haven't been around it as much as some of the others, it feels like they're really open. Everyone's willing to talk and ask questions. It's been a really positive feel inside our room, and I think that bubbles over to individual positions around the field. Hopefully, they see that we have a genuine relationship inside our offensive staff.
Q: Why was Utah State the right fit for you?
James: Two major factors. One, coach (Blake) Anderson. I worked with him in 2014-15 as a GA, and he's done nothing but look out for me throughout my career and he's been really good to me. The second would be coach (Anthony) Tucker. I've worked with him everywhere but at UMass, and he's been somebody who's been a mentor to me, and he's steered me in the right direction in a lot of different ways. The opportunity to work with two guys that you trust and believe in, you hop at that opportunity.
Q: What are your priorities for the Aggie offensive line and what are you working on during spring practice?
James: One of the things that I've really challenged these guys to do is to make sure they're able to pick up what we're trying to do schematically. That's been something that I've been really wanting to challenge them on. As soon as we got in the door, I wanted them to be good in our meeting room. We want to challenge them in the weight room also to become the best version of themselves before we get on the field. Also, when we get on the field, having those guys have a base, because they've done film study and they've spent time in the weight room, that way when we're out on the field and we're working technique things, it's not completely brand new and we're able to jump off some kind of base. I think that's a big deal. These guys have done everything that we've asked them to do. They've pushed themselves. I'm really pleased with that part of things for sure, and I think we're making strides in understanding what we want to do and how we want to do it, we've just got to keep pushing toward that.
Q: With a lot of guys returning in your unit that started last year and transfers who have played a lot of football, how helpful is it having that kind of experience in the room?
James: When you have a base football knowledge, when you learn something new it's not completely foreign. It's been good to have that in the room and to be able to talk real ball with these guys and them understanding why we're doing things without having to go through all of the ABCs of it. We can move it at a faster pace just because these guys do have so much playing experience and the willingness to learn. That part of it has been awesome.
Q: What are you hoping this offensive line's identity is and what can Aggie fans expect to see from that group this fall?
James: The biggest thing that we want to be able to do is run the ball. That goes into the physicality piece of it. We want to be a very physical group, a very smart group, a group that is very disciplined, but I also want us to be as nasty as we possibly can be within the whistles and within the rules. That's the only way that you'll be able to run the ball at a high rate, and that's what we're working toward right now. I think that the guys are up for the challenge.
Q: How do you feel the offensive line has adjusted to the fast pace of play so far?
James: It's a challenge, especially because they weren't doing it last year. Some of these guys have done tempo before with previous staffs, and some of the younger guys haven't, so we're just getting those guys to understand the operation of what a tempo offense is as far as getting their feet set and looking at the defenses. They need to be ready to make their calls, that's why it's so important for them to have that base fundamental knowledge of what we're doing schematically. If you don't and things are going really fast, your processing will get thrown off. That's probably been the most challenging part for our guys. The biggest thing that I've seen is that each time we go out there it gets better. I think that is the challenge, is making all the right calls while going at breakneck speed, but I think that the guys are going to be able to do that.
Q: Conditioning has to be a big part of your success, correct?
James: Yeah, I think we've been making great strides from that standpoint. I think the work that they've done with coach Jackson coming into the spring definitely has helped and has been really impactful for them to have some type of conditioning. Obviously, we're not in game shape yet, but we're moving in the right direction. The first practice these guys were kind of gassed, but now you see that the energy is different and we understand what we're doing. Some of that is not wasting energy between the snaps, knowing where the ball is and how I need to track the ball, all that stuff helps with the conditioning, as well.
Q: What excites you the most when talking about this team and preparing for games this fall?
James: I think that it's wide open. We're playing at such a breakneck speed, so I'd say the explosive plays, the opportunities to see guys make plays in space, the versatility where you'll see the run game and also the long ball and the short game. To me, when it starts to click and when it starts moving, it's like an avalanche and it just keeps coming. That's probably the most exciting part.
Q: What got you into coaching and why do you enjoy it so much?
James: When I was a freshman in college, I didn't really know what I wanted to do yet. That was one of the toughest years in my life, there was so much going on. I wasn't playing, I was overweight, I wasn't handling things great socially, there were things going on at home. My coaching staff and my offensive line coach at Georgia Military, they were really good to me and I ended up the next year having one the best years of football of my life because those guys were with me and they guided and mentored me. Those relationships kept me in a good head space to stick it out and not quit and not give up on it. Then I went to Middle Tennessee and I played for another great coach in Rick Stockstill and eventually coach (Glen) Elarbee. The mentorship that I got from my coaches when I was not at my best made me believe that coaching is what I wanted to do. I want to be able to help young men when they're transitioning from being at home to being on their own, and helping these young men become the best versions of themselves in between. That's probably my favorite part about coaching, is when you see somebody two, three, four years after you've dealt with them and seeing where they've progressed in their life. Not just as a football player, but seeing that they're married and what they're doing in their careers. These are all things that I love to see, and I just wanted to be a part of that piece of it.
Q: What do you enjoy doing when you're not coaching football?
James: I'm kind of a nerd. I love watching comic book movies and all that good stuff. I'm a big movie goer. Probably the worst part about COVID is that I can't just walk into a matinee whenever I want to, that's probably been the hardest part for me. We play hoops, I love playing basketball. I love doing that active piece of it. Just in general, I love being around people. So, hanging around with guys on the staff, hanging out with friends and family, that's kind of just me in a nutshell. I have a girlfriend, as well, so I spend a bunch of time with her when I can. That's kind of what I do as far as hobbies.
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