No. 45 in the Roster Countdown is redshirt Sophomore James Wilborn, Jr. He signals that we are now halfway through the 40s, and that has this authors head SPINNING that we are this close to the season. Six and a half weeks from now, Boise State will own the city of Seattle. Crazy.
#45, James Wilborn, Jr., EDGE
Stats
Height: 6’2
Weight: 249
High school: Avon Old Farms School (Conn.)
How’d he get to The Blue™?
Wilborn Jr. is in his third year at Boise State. He redshirted his first year and didn’t see action last year. Before he came to the 208, he was a three star prospect and a top 50 edge rusher in his class. He garnered a few Big 10 looks, with Penn State recruiting him and Michigan and Rutgers offering him out of high school. Michigan and Boise State were his only non-east coast offers, and the Broncos won out. Interestingly enough, the national recruiting profile on his 247 page says he will be a multi-year starter at a P5 school. That tells you all you need to know about the raw talent Wilborn has.
Nickname
King James, II
Okay, let me explain. His name is James, and he’s a junior, so he COULD be a “the second”. The history buff in me had to go down this route.
Look-alike
I actually think this one is pretty close. DWade, minority investor in the Jazz and member of the iconic “not one, not two, not three” squad, is the look alike for today.
Career Highlights
Wilborn Jr. hasn’t hit The Blue in a game yet, but he was a pretty impressive high school player. He was considered a top 10 player in the state of Connecticut, and was always considered one of the best at his position.
2023 Prospectus
Wilborn Jr. has versatility to his game. He played outside linebacker in high school, but suits the EDGE role at Boise State. He’s been around the program for a while now, and should have a pretty good grasp on all things Boise Defense. I’d look for Wilborn to see the field this year and make an impact.
Is he on Twitter?
He doesn’t tweet much, just you can find him @Jaywill0_. His only post? His commitment to the Broncos.
Completely made up fact
James is from Flint, Michigan originally, but they made him move because he was simply just too good at football and the state of Michigan couldn’t handle it.
How come the mtn.W isn’t trying to poach other schools i.e. university of Texas San Antonio? Also since since it seems the other p5 ( hate that phrase) conferences are getting bigger t.v deals is the mnt.W doing the same thing?
What’s the deal with him not seeing the field yet? He has been here three years (redshirt, freshman, sophomore) and hasn’t seen the field once. For a guy being recruited by Michigan and Penn St this seems weird. Is there some off field issues? Was he hurt? Especially since we have had so many d-line issues with injuries, transfers, quitting the game, graduation, etc. Maybe I am wrong but it seems like there should have been some opportunities for him to get into the rotation. Just curious is there is any other info…???