Richard “Wink” James Jr. wants an offer from Temple.
The 6-foot-1, 250 pound class of 2024 defensive tackle from Saint Joe’s Prep plans to attend Temple head coach Rod Carey’s football camp on June 11.
“I wanna first meet the coaching staff, and talk to the guys and see what they are like,” James told OwlScoop.com. “I would like an offer from Temple.”
Although James is attending the camp, he hasn’t spoken to anyone from Temple’s coaching staff directly. Saint Joe’s Prep head coach Tim Roken told James Temple running backs coach Gabe Infante, who helped Saint Joe’s Prep win four PIAA state titles in nine seasons as its head coach before coming to Temple prior to the 2019 season, wanted him to attend the camp, he said.
James hasn’t taken an official visit to Temple but is familiar with the campus already because he passes it when walking to school every day, and his mother worked as a nurse at Temple University Hospital when he was growing up.
“I grew up in the city, and it is always good to be near home and stuff, so I would say that I like it,” James said of Temple’s campus.
James, who is set to graduate in 2024, has already received three power five offers from Penn State, Texas A&M and Ole Miss but said he won’t make his decision until sometime during his junior year of high school.
When James attends Temple’s camp, he wants to show that despite being undersized for a defensive tackle, he can still be a disruptive force up front.
“I just need to show speed, quickness and footwork,” James said. “If I had to compare it to a person, I would say Aaron Donald would be the closest. So I play like a smaller defensive tackle but powerful and quick off the ball.”
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