3/2/2020 football Edit

Source: Sampson James enters name into transfer portal

Taylor Lehman • TheHoosier

Staff

Indiana freshman running back Sampson James has entered his name into the NCAA transfer portal, a source confirmed to TheHoosier.com on Monday.

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Indiana freshman running back Sampson James has entered his name into the NCAA transfer portal, a source confirmed with TheHoosier.com on Monday afternoon. The Detroit Free-Press was first to report the news.

The decision comes as another entry into the continued bloodshed of contributors to the Hoosiers' historic 2019 season that includes offensive coordinator Kalen DeBoer, strength and conditioning tandem David Ballou and Matt Rhea, defensive line coach Mark Hagen, special teams coordinator William Inge, quarterback Peyton Ramsey, left tackle Coy Cronk and running back Ronnie Walker.

James was largely slotted behind sophomore running backs Stevie Scott and Ronnie Walker in 2019, but he stepped in for Scott when Scott suffered an injury against Michigan that kept him out of Indiana's regular season finale against Purdue. James rushed for 118 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries and showed promise with flashes of power against Purdue.

Since last spring, Indiana has lost four running backs, including Cole Gest and Ivory Winters, and, on Monday, the only scholarship running backs on the roster are Scott and 2020 early enrollee Tim Baldwin.

James was one of the highest-rated running backs Indiana had ever signed, after he flipped from Ohio State to Indiana and signed with the Hoosiers' 2019 class out of Avon. A four-star running back, James was rated as the No. 185 overall prospect in his class, the No. 9 running back in the nation and the No. 3 overall prospect in the state of Indiana.

The news of James' intention to transfer comes just a couple days after Ballou, who spent 14 years at Avon and knew James at a young age, visited Alabama and accepted its vacant strength and conditioning position. Ohio State, who James was committed to for nearly seven months during the recruiting process, is thin at running back for 2020 as well, following some major recruiting losses and J.K. Dobbins' entry into the NFL Draft.