James Skalski
 Skalski with the Clemson Tigers | |
| Oklahoma Sooners | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Linebacker |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | February 2, 1998 Sharpsburg, Georgia |
| Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Weight: | 228 lb (103 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Northgate High School |
| College: | Clemson (2016–2021) |
| Undrafted: | 2022 |
| Career history | |
| As a player: | |
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
| As a coach: | |
| |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
James Skalski (born February 2, 1998) is an American football coach and former linebacker. He is currently a coach for the Oklahoma Sooners football program. He last played for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Clemson.
Early years
[edit]Skalski attended Northgate High School in Newnan, Georgia, where he played soccer as well as linebacker and punter on the gridiron.[1] As a junior, he was limited to seven games due to a thumb injury but had 78 tackles and three sacks, earning All-County honors.[2] Skalski recorded 170 tackles as a senior including 33 tackles for loss, 11 sacks, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, an interception and two defensive touchdowns. He was named the Region 4-AAAAA Defensive Player of the Year.[1] In February 2015, Skalski committed to Clemson over offers from Louisville, Marshall, Ole Miss, North Carolina, South Carolina, UCF and Wake Forest.[2]
College career
[edit]As a freshman in 2016, Skalski had 14 tackles, with eight tackles coming on special teams plays.[3] He recorded 37 tackles, including two tackles for loss as a sophomore while starting two games. Skalski redshirted the 2018 season after sustaining an injury in preseason practice.[4] Due to a new NCAA rule, he was able to return at the end of the season while keeping his redshirt and helped Clemson win the national championship.[5] As a redshirt junior in 2019, Skalski was second on the team with 105 tackles, including 7.5 for loss, as well as 4.5 sacks, four pass breakups, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. He was named to the All-ACC Academic Team.[6] In the 2020 College Football Playoff National Championship against LSU, he had six tackles, a sack and a pass breakup, but was ejected due to a targeting penalty.[7]
Coming into his senior season, Skalski was named to the Butkus Award watchlist.[6] He focused on improving his diet by cutting out junk food and lowering his sugar intake.[7] On October 24, 2020, Skalski missed the game against Syracuse with a groin injury during practice.[8] After an MRI revealed more significant damage which required surgery, he was ruled out for several weeks.[9] Skalski returned in the win against Pittsburgh on November 28.[10] He was ejected in the Sugar Bowl for targeting after lowering his helmet into the body of Justin Fields in the second quarter of a 49–28 loss to Ohio State.[11]
College statistics
[edit]| Season | Games | Tackles | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Solo | Ast | TFL | Sacks | ||
| Clemson Tigers | ||||||
| 2016 | 7 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 2.0 | 1.0 |
| 2017 | 12 | 31 | 16 | 15 | 2.0 | 0.5 |
| 2018 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1.0 | 0.0 |
| 2019 | 15 | 90 | 45 | 45' | 6.5 | 3.5 |
| 2020 | 9 | 34 | 22 | 12 | 2.0 | 1.0 |
| 2021 | 13 | 87 | 40 | 47 | 4.5 | 2.5 |
| Career | 59 | 258 | 132 | 126 | 18.0 | 8.5 |
Professional career
[edit]| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft 11+7⁄8 in (1.83 m) |
228 lb (103 kg) |
30+1⁄2 in (0.77 m) |
9+1⁄8 in (0.23 m) |
4.72 s | 1.63 s | 2.72 s | 4.32 s | 6.96 s | 34.0 in (0.86 m) |
9 ft 6 in (2.90 m) |
26 reps | |
| All values from Pro Day[12] | ||||||||||||
Skalski signed with the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent on May 13, 2022. He was released from the Colts on August 31, 2022.[13]
Coaching career
[edit]Skalski announced that he was joining Oklahoma as a coach on January 22, 2023.[14][15]
Personal life
[edit]Skalski is the son of John and Sherri Skalski. His older sister Brenna played softball at Georgia State.[7] Skalski's father died of a heart attack on October 14, 2016, while mowing the lawn. Skalski missed Clemson's following game against NC State.[3] He got a tattoo on his left bicep that says, "War like the warrior you are," based on a quote of his father's.[16]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Oliver, Gavin (February 11, 2017). "Skalski enjoyed 'fun ride' in first season". The Clemson Insider. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
- ^ a b Crumpton, Tony (February 4, 2015). "3-star LB commits to Clemson". TigerNet.com. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
- ^ a b Lentz, Zach (October 27, 2020). "Tragedy Turns to Triumph for James Skalski". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
- ^ Keepfer, Scott (August 29, 2018). "Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney has plan in place to redshirt linebacker James Skalski". The Greenville News. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
- ^ Pendergist, Ashley (March 6, 2019). "Skalski is ready to step up". The Clemson Insider. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
- ^ a b Anderson, Reggie (July 20, 2020). "Skalski named to Butkus award watch list". WTLX. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
- ^ a b c Needelman, Joshua (March 9, 2020). "'Like a criminal': Clemson linebacker's ejection in title game was low point, but he's back". The Post and Courier. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
- ^ Adelson, Andrea (October 24, 2020). "Clemson Tigers without DT Tyler Davis, LB James Skalski vs. Syracuse Orange". ESPN. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
- ^ Hale, David (October 27, 2020). "Clemson Tigers LB James Skalski to miss multiple games with groin injury". ESPN. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
- ^ Needelman, Joshua (November 29, 2020). "7 takeaways from Clemson's win over Pittsburgh". The Post and Courier. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
- ^ Adelson, Andrea (January 2, 2021). "Clemson LB James Skalski ejected from Sugar Bowl for targeting". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
- ^ "2022 Draft Scout James Skalski, Clemson NFL Draft Scout College Football Profile". draftscout.com. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
- ^ Stankevitz, JJ (May 13, 2022). "Colts Sign Four 2022 NFL Draft Picks, 22 Undrafted Free Agents". Colts.com.
- ^ Skalski, James. "Post". Instagram.com.
- ^ Peery, Wade (January 23, 2023). "Former Clemson star joins Brent Venables, Oklahoma coaching staff". On3. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
- ^ Raynor, Grace (August 10, 2019). "Scouting James Skalski: Clemson coaches say to watch out for this unheralded Tigers linebacker". The Athletic. Retrieved November 30, 2020.