Under the Friday night lights of Texas High School football, legends are born - in big and small towns alike.

As time passes, the stories grow more extravagant.

There have been many Texas high school legends over the years, and every town has at least one story. In the city of Houston there are several, but Vince Young's is perhaps the story most told nowadays.

However, before Young came out of Madison there was another 6-4, 215-pound quarterback with a strong arm and 4.5 speed coming out of the Houston area.

Aldine MacArthur's Odell James was Vince Young before we knew about Vince Young.

The legend of James began before he reached junior high. High school coaches in the Houston area were being told about the two-way terror as a middle schooler. When Spike Harlan, then the Aldine MacArthur quarterback coach, first saw James play he could not believe his eyes.

"I remember when he was a freshman, of course he played offense and defense when he was on the freshman team," said Harlan. "But I went out and watched them play when he was a freshman. He just dominated both sides of the ball. I said, 'God, I've never seen anything like him in my life.' He was a man among boys."

James quickly became a known commodity in the Houston area, and following his freshman year MacArthur coach Bob Alpert named James the starting quarterback.

The ride was not always smooth during that first campaign. MacArthur played in one of the toughest districts in Houston, if not the state of Texas. James often tried to do too much. However, as the season progressed so did James.

"I remember one time we were playing La Porte, I think and he threw a couple of interceptions and one of them went back for a touchdown," said Harlan. "I'm saying 'Golly, we've got to get somebody to replace him.' Coach Alpert who was the head coach says, 'No, we aren't replacing him with anybody.' He was absolutely right."

By the end of the regular season, James and MacArthur were gearing up for the playoffs. It was that run in 1993 that really put him on map.

"I think when he was a sophomore - in six playoff games - he rushed for over 1,000 yards and passed for over 1,000 yards," said Harlan.

"I think the biggest game he ever played was in the state championship game against Lewisville. We lost that game by less than a touchdown, but it was one of the finest high school football games I've ever been a part of. I think he rushed for over 100 and passed for over 100. I think he had close to 300 yards of total offense. He had a great game."

For many, the 43-37 MacArthur loss was more than his arrival on the scene - it was the beginning of his climb to legendary status.

"I saw the state championship game where they lost a heartbreaker, and by that time the legend of Odell James was well on its way to taking shape," said Rivals.com Editor in Chief Bobby Burton, then the publisher of National Recruiting Advisor.

"He took a keeper around right end in the state championship game as a sophomore and he looked like he was shot out of a cannon."

As James progressed through his high school career, the legend grew larger.

"What made Odell special was his combination of a strong arm, size, athleticism and quickness - and he was a winner in high school and played for a very good coach in Bob Alpert," said Burton. "Bob knew how to accentuate Odell's strengths."

"He had a great work ethic and wanted to be successful in whatever he did, and when you saw him play your mouth dropped," then Baylor defensive coordinator and Houston area recruiter Andy McCollum said of James.

Coach McCollum, now the linebackers coach at N.C. State, was joined in his pursuit of James by Nebraska's Turner Gill. Coaches from Texas, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Florida State and many many more were interested in landing James' services.

"He was a priority. The guy had tremendous tools for what we were trying to do at the quarterback position," Gill said of James. "The quarterback was somewhat of a running back, but still needed to have the skills to be able to throw the ball effectively. He was a priority, no doubt about it."

To say the recruitment of James was heated would be an understatement. He wasn't just recruited by several schools, he was priority No. 1 for most.

James was widely considered the state's top prospect. He compiled 5,870 yards of total offense (3,300 rushing and 2,570 passing) over the course of his career, rushing for 54 touchdowns and passing for 24. He had a 25-7-2 record as a starter.

The decision was hard, but he narrowed his list to Florida State, Ohio State, Texas, Nebraska, and Baylor during his senior season. Even after suffering a knee injury against Aldine as a senior, college coaches could not back away.

In the end it came down to two schools – Baylor and Nebraska. As the story goes, Nebraska coach Tom Osborne flew down to Houston after the title game to give James his pitch. Osborne envisioned James becoming the successor to Tommie Frazier, who had just led the Huskers to a National Title.

James visited Nebraska with another highly rated dual-threat quarterback, Tee Martin (who signed with Tennessee). After checking out Nebraska and Baylor, James scheduled a news conference for Thursday, Jan. 4 to announce his intentions.

"It was the first press conference I had ever been to," said McCollum, who was joined by Baylor coach Chuck Reedy and coaches from Nebraska and Oklahoma that day. "He had a press conference and it was humongous. I mean everybody was there."

James let the Baylor coaches know his intentions before hand, so they weren't surprised by his announcement that he was headed to Baylor. However, that did not take any of the excitement out of the day.

"Me and Coach Reedy went and Odell saw the progress and success that we were having at Baylor under Chuck Reedy," said McCollum. "And now bringing in the top quarterback to do those things, it was a great fit. We were excited, and it helped us draw a lot of other top players in that recruiting class."

"Getting a recruit of that nature is almost like winning a game sometimes," said Reedy. "Because there is so much that you put into it, and there is the excitement and the high that you get once it's finalized. It was a big deal for us and it was very exciting."

With James on board, Baylor put together what was regarded by some as one of the top recruiting classes in the country.

After his high school career, James was named the Offensive MVP of the THSCA All-Star game while playing the game on a knee that was not completely healthy.

Before his freshman season at Baylor, that injured knee would be damaged further. It required surgery, and he was forced to sit out the 1996 season.

The injuries, combined with a series of coaching changes, sidetracked much of James's career. He was still able to amass 605 yards and three TDs through the air and 477 yards and two TDs rushing in three seasons as the Bears quarterback.

As a senior in 2000, he moved to safety and finished the season with 46 tackles (25 solos, 21 assisted) two tackles for loss and an interception.

When his playing days were over, Odell James didn't wander far from the football field.

James stayed in the Waco, Texas, area after graduating from Baylor with a B.A. in speech communication and sociology in 2001. He is currently the Assistant Director of Football Operations and an assistant strength and conditioning coach at Baylor University - a position he took in 2004.

James is also the Executive Director of O & K Sports. O & K offers a variety of services – personal training, sports medicine, and sports rehab – for clients of all ages and ability levels.

Before joining the Baylor staff, he worked as a teacher and coach in the Waco ISD. He spent time as a seventh-grade basketball coach at Waco's St. Louis Catholic Middle School.

James has worked numerous football camps around the area, including Baylor Football Camps and Camp LT (LaDainian Tomlinson's Camp). This summer, James is holding his first Odell James Football Camp July 11-14 at Baylor University.

James is active in the Waco Community, and is a member of Highland Baptist Church. He is married to Baylor communications professor and psychology of education doctorate candidate, Kai'Iah James. He and his wife have three children - Alexis (6), Gabrielle (4) and Solomon (3).

While James' days on the gridiron did not end the way he envisioned, the legend of Odell James remains intact.

[rl]