photo credit: Twitter/Jason Novak
Unbeknownst to many, Scott Chadwick was the common link between the two most viral college sports stories of the past week.
On one hand, he coached UTSA quarterback Owen McCown and former Memphis defensive back Tahj Ra-El when they were at Myers High in Charlotte. Those two were at the center of a playbook scandal earlier in the week.
Ra-El, who transferred to Purdue to play for former Arkansas defensive coordinator Barry Odom, allegedly sent McCown some of Memphis’ defensive plays before the Roadrunners played the Tigers last November. UTSA won that matchup 44-36.
After the messages leaked, Purdue removed Ra-El’s bio page from its website and the former Tiger had to issue a public apology. When Chadwick heard another one of his former players was going viral, his initial reaction wasn’t one of excitement but of apprehension.
“My son texted me, ‘Man, your former players are the most viral college football players in the country these days,’” Chadwick told Best of Arkansas Sports. “And my question to him was, ‘What now?’”
Next up just so happened to be one of the most controversial figures of the Arkansas football offseason: Dazmin James. The wide receiver played for Chadwick three years ago at Clayton High in North Carolina before committing to Arkansas in June 2023.
Since transferring to California on Jan. 13, James has made an amazing transformation. While Arkansas has been pursuing legal action for a reneged NIL deal, James has been attacking the weights. He posted before-and-after photos to his Instagram story Thursday, which have now circulated all over social media and were even featured on ESPN’s SportsCenter.
Thankfully, instead of a national scandal, it was a positive accomplishment in an area where James struggled during his high school days.
Dazmin James’ Weight Room Struggles
In a chat with BoAS, Scott Chadwick recalled giving the former Hog a hard time about his ‘high metabolism’ because James swore that he constantly ate food but never gained weight.
However, the Clayton High coach blames most of James’ troubles on running track at the same time as training for football. While he used his speed to haul in passes on the gridiron, he was also a beast on the track. He was the North Carolina Class 4A state champion in the 100- and 200-meter races, with times of 10.46 and 21.06 seconds, respectively.
Not having to deal with cross-sport training is one reason Chadwick was surprised James didn’t have his glow-up with the Razorbacks, even though James did gain and sustain some weight while he was a Hog:
Listed at 185 pounds in the 2023 Arkansas media guide
Listed at 194 pounds in the 2024 Arkansas media guide
Listed at 196 pounds on the 2024 Liberty Bowl depth chart
While he was listed at 195 pounds on Cal’s spring roster, it’s not clear exactly how much he currently weighs. He told Chadwick he put on 20 pounds since moving to the Bay Area.
For a guy who counts on his speed, gaining so much weight may seem like a peculiar choice, but Chadwick doesn’t think it will hold James back.
“When I look at the picture, to me it looks like the right kind of weight,” Chadwick said. “He looks like he’s going to be able to carry that weight really, really well.”
To Chadwick’s point, teams all around the country implement various training measures like using Catapult vests – which measures a player’s speed – and other types of resistance training to reduce the impact that gaining weight while lifting has on speed and agility. While James’ transformation may seem unbelievable to laymen, gaining 20 pounds of muscle in six months is well within the parameters of modern-day sports training, especially at a Power Four program.
But that begs the question: Why couldn’t he do it within his two seasons at Arkansas?
Remembering James’ Time at Arkansas
Technically, Dazmin James did gain weight in his time at Arkansas, although not nearly as much as he already has at Cal. Perhaps he couldn’t reach his full potential because he lacked chemistry with the staff in Fayetteville.
“I don’t want to say he had bad work habits before [at Arkansas],” Chadwick said. “But I think maybe he’s at a place where they understand him, too, and I don’t think that was necessarily the case at Arkansas.”
It’s hard to assign blame to either party without knowing both sides of the story. However, James allegedly didn’t have the best attitude while he was on the Hill, according to one BoAS source. We also know he served a one-game suspension against UAB for violating team rules.
With Isaiah Sategna and Andrew Armstrong leaving for the portal and NFL draft, respectively, James brought an edge to his first big chance to shine on the college stage. He knew he would get significant snaps in the Liberty against Texas Tech, which also had a depleted roster, and was ready to make sure Arkansas’ coaches took note.
“He made a comment to me before the bowl game, ‘Hey, I’m going to get some playing time,’” Chadwick said. ”He said his goal was to make them look stupid for the fact he hadn’t played all season.”
While that comment may seem to indicate at least some hard feelings between him and the coaching staff, Chadwick believes he wasn’t planning on leaving before the bowl game. Instead, he viewed it as extra motivation for James to play well on that cold Dec. 27 evening in Memphis. After all, he did record 137 yards and a touchdown on three receptions – including a school-record 94-yard touchdown.
How He Fits at Cal
It wasn’t only Dazmin James who felt validated by his performance. His coach, who’d told anybody who would listen James was on the brink of a breakthrough, couldn’t help but smile when his former star recorded Arkansas’ most receiving yards in a bowl game since Derek Holloway in the 1981 Gator Bowl against North Carolina.
Looking forward to his role on the Bears, Chadwick sees more outings like that in James’ future.
“Given the opportunity, I think he can flourish,” Chadwick said. “I think he’s got a special set of skills, and he literally has world-class speed.”
Chadwick thought James was underutilized at Arkansas, saying he would have loved to see him as a return man on special teams. Arkansas ranked 121st out of 134 FBS teams in kickoff return average last year, so he might have a point.
However, with the Golden Bears, James may have the opportunity to showcase his skills early. Only one of Cal’s top 11 pass catchers from last season has returned: the incredibly appropriately named Trond Grizzell. With hardly any competition, James is predicted to crack the two-deep heading into the 2025 season, according to Bear Insider’s latest depth chart.
Whether James would’ve had a better shot to crack the starting rotation at Arkansas will never be known, but when he transferred to Cal, he left behind a bare cupboard at his position in Fayetteville. Instead, Sam Pittman & Co. had to completely rebuild the position over the offseason.
While Chadwick watches to see how his former player does with the Golden Bears, Arkansas fans will tune in with intrigue as the Razorbacks field a retooled wide receiver room.
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More on Memphis-UTSA ‘Textgate’ Front
Scott Chadwick feels like his former standout, Tahj Ra-El, was essentially hacked.
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Andrew Hutchinson contributed to this story.
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More coverage of Arkansas football and Dazmin James from BoAS…