Odell James Joins Football Staff
8/17/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 17, 2004
Odell James, a Houston native and four-year letterman for the Baylor football team from 1997 through 2000, has been selected to the dual position of Assistant Director of Football Operations and Assistant Strength Coach for the Bears, head coach Guy Morriss announced today. "I was very impressed with Odell during the interview process and am excited that he's joining our staff," Morriss said. "He is a former Baylor football player and has a great story to tell. I believe that he'll be a tremendous asset as we continue to get our former players involved in our program. Odell is a great fit for this position and I believe he'll be an asset for our program." James joins the Baylor staff from Waco's O & K Sports, a company he founded in August 2002. Prior to that, he spent one academic year (2001-02) as a teacher and coach in the Waco Independent School District. James served as the seventh grade basketball coach at Waco's St. Louis Catholic Middle School during the 2000-01 season, guiding the team to a district championship, while also working as a personal fitness assistant at the Baylor University Student Life Complex. One of the nation's most highly-recruited preps as a senior quarterback at Houston's MacArthur High School, earning Bluechip and Super Prep All-America honors in his final year, James sat out his freshman season at Baylor as a redshirt due to a knee injury. He then appeared in 22 games over the next three seasons at quarterback, drawing four starts as a sophomore in 1998. James directed Baylor's version of the wishbone offense to a 33-30 win over 20th-ranked North Carolina State in BU's 1998 home opener, a victory that marks the last time a Bear squad knocked off a ranked opponent. Following his junior season, James moved to free safety for his senior year and played in all 11 games for the Bears with three starts. James received his bachelor's degree in speech communication and sociology from Baylor in August 2001. He and his wife, Kai'Iah, who is a Baylor communications professor, have three children--Alexis (3), Gabrielle (1) and Solomon (10 months). "I'm looking forward to being on the staff and being around the program," said James. "I've been impressed with the way the coaching staff communicates with the players. They (the staff) really care about the players in the program and are working hard to help them be successful not only in football, but in life, too." James replaces Mark Perry who left Morriss' staff last spring.
