MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Dazmin James didn’t run hurdles as a high school track star, but he’s been excellent at clearing them on his way to a breakout performance for Arkansas at the Liberty Bowl.
In his first significant collegiate action, the redshirt freshman eclipsed the century mark and helped the Razorbacks cruise to a 39-26 win over Texas Tech in Memphis.
His 94-yard score in the first quarter was the longest touchdown reception in UA history — two yards longer than the previous record set by Matt Jones and Richard Smith against Tennessee in 2002 — and was one of three catches that totaled 137 yards.
“I talked about Dazmin James right before the game started because he’s so talented,” Arkansas football coach Sam Pittman said. “He just hasn’t done what we saw tonight, but he had opportunity, and I expect that to be all the time now.”
They may not have been as flashy, but both of James’ other receptions were also important to Arkansas.
The second was a 24-yard grab that moved the chains on third-and-11. Despite hurting his knee on that play, James managed to return to the game and make a critical 19-yard catch on the sideline to get the Razorbacks firmly into field goal range just before halftime, shifting momentum back in their favor.
He may have had even more than Arkansas’ fourth-most receiving yards ever in a bowl, but he also appeared to be shaken up on that last catch and ended up playing just 12 total offensive snaps, according to Pro Football Focus.
It was one of the more surprising performances in UA history, ranking up there with the likes of Hudson Clark’s three-interception game against Ole Miss in 2020, Lucas Miller’s 201-yard receiving game against Mississippi State in 2008 and Roland Sales’ 205-yard game against Oklahoma in the 1978 Orange Bowl.
With Andrew Armstrong opting out to focus on the NFL Draft, Isaiah Sategna in the transfer portal and Jordan Anthony out because of personal reasons, Arkansas knew it’d need somebody to step up, but James was probably down the list of players expected to do just that.
“With it being a bowl game, we all knew we were gonna get reps,” James said. “It was just about getting my opportunity and what I was gonna do with it.”
He certainly capitalized on the opportunity and left many Arkansas football fans asking the same thing: Who is this guy and where has he been?
The Unique Journey of Dazmin James
Even being in a Razorback jersey on Friday was extremely unlikely for Dazmin James.
“It is a rags-to-riches story,” Scott Chadwick, his high school coach, told Best of Arkansas Sports two summers ago.
After all, he was hardly recruited coming out of Clayton High in North Carolina in the Class of 2023. In fact, when he transferred to the school for his senior year, he had hardly played at all and his grades were in rough shape.
That latter part is almost certainly why he was originally headed to JUCO, but James put in a lot of work in the classroom and managed to become a late qualifier — so late that most schools had already filled up their 85 scholarships.
When he made the grades in June after his senior year, though, North Carolina State and Liberty pulled the trigger with offers. Arkansas was third in line thanks to a pair of coincidental connections.
Chadwick told BoAS that it was actually one of the coaches at Iowa Western C.C. who tipped off the Razorbacks about James. That got the ball rolling and then it helped even more that Chadwick had previously worked with Dan Enos — the Arkansas OC at the time — at Maryland.
It’s easy to see why Arkansas was intrigued enough to take a flier on James.
He was a state champion sprinter in the 100- and 200-meters in North Carolina’s largest classification, winning those races with times of 10.46 and 21.06 seconds, despite never competing in track until his senior year. On the gridiron, he scored seven touchdowns of 50-plus yards.
That speed was on display during his 94-yard catch and run. James avoided a shoe-string tackle after reeling in the slant from Taylen Green and then topped out at 22.1 mph, according to Reel Analytics, on his way to the end zone, outracing a defender that looked like he might have an angle.
“I didn’t know [Dazmin] was very fast,” Pittman said with a laugh. “He kept acting like he was, but I think he went 22.3 on his catapult and he went 10.3 or something in high school looking left and right in 100 meters. Won at the state championship. He’s just a wonderful kid too, but he’s really fast.”
Patience Pays Off for Arkansas
Of course, getting to Arkansas was only half the battle for Dazmin James. He also had to bide his time, which is never easy in the transfer portal era.
However, the speedster stuck around after playing just one offensive snap — against FIU — as a true freshman and didn’t bail after appearing only on special teams this season. He found himself buried on the depth chart and even left off the travel roster against Oklahoma State before serving a one-game suspension for a violation of team rules the following week.
No one would have batted an eye if he hit the portal like so many of his teammates earlier this month. Instead, he put his head down and waited for the chance that finally came Friday night.
James never really flashed his big-play potential during spring ball, when practices were open to reporters, so it wasn’t much of a surprise that he was still listed as a backup on the Liberty Bowl depth chart. His performance against the Red Raiders, though, might indicate he’s a “gamer” who shines when the lights are brightest.
It’s also worth acknowledging that Texas Tech had the second-worst pass defense in the country this season. The 308.1 yards through the air it allowed ranked ahead of only Tulsa (316.0 ypg) and was the worst by a Power Four team since 2021, when Duke (311.8) and Michigan State (324.8) were worse.
At the very least, James should have plenty of confidence heading into a critical offseason for Arkansas’ wide receiver room. Andrew Armstrong, Isaac TeSlaa, Isaiah Sategna and 92.9% of the Razorbacks’ yards by receivers will be gone in 2025, creating quite the void.
Arkansas has added to the room with four touted transfer portal prospects, but James could potentially factor into the mix as a redshirt sophomore.
“You’ll definitely see more,” James said. “It’s just the beginning. First game. I just had an opportunity. I got my opportunity and I ran with it.”
Arkansas Football Bowl Game Record – Receiving Yards
Check out the illustrious list Dazmin James joined with his performance against Texas Tech in the Liberty Bowl:
t-1. Chuck Dicus – 171 yards (1970 Sugar Bowl vs. Ole Miss)
t-1. Derek Holloway – 171 yards (1981 Gator Bowl vs. North Carolina)
3. Chuck Dicus – 169 yards (1969 Sugar Bowl vs. Georgia)
t-4. Bruce Maxwell – 137 yards (1970 Sugar Bowl vs. Ole Miss)
t-4. Dazmin James – 137 yards (2024 Liberty Bowl vs. Texas Tech)
6. Bobby Crockett – 129 yards (1966 Cotton Bowl vs. LSU)
7. Matt Landers – 121 yards (2022 Liberty Bowl vs. Kansas)
8. Joe Adams – 120 yards (2011 Sugar Bowl vs. Ohio State)
9. George Wilson – 111 yards (2002 Music City Bowl vs. Minnesota)
t-10. Derek Russell – 105 yards (1990 Cotton Bowl vs. Tennessee)
t-10. Keon Hatcher – 105 yards (2016 Belk Bowl vs. Virginia Tech)
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Learn more about Dazmin James’ unlikely journey to Arkansas by reading our story about his commitment, from June 2023:
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More coverage of Arkansas vs Texas Tech in the Liberty Bowl from BoAS…
