LeBron James football recruiting: When the NBA legend was recruited to play football by Urban Meyer

LeBron James was recruited to play football in his sophomore year by Urban Meyer. Here we look at if LeBron could have been a football star.

Lakers’ superstar Lebron James is one of the greatest players to play the game of basketball. His work ethic, athleticism, play making ability and leadership skills have made him the biggest superstar in the league. Although Lebron was one of the most hyped-up athlete in high school, he was approached by legendary coach Meyer to join him in Indiana to play as a wide receiver.

LeBron James’ college football career

Looking at his athletic ability, LeBron would have made it big in football.

In his sophomore year, James recorded 42 catches for 820 yards and seven touchdowns. James had 61 catches for 1,245 yards and 16 touchdown as a junior. He even made the All-Ohio first-team in both the seasons.

His team had a record of 10-4 in his junior season and eventually lost in the state semifinals.

Although Lebron later went to play basketball at a pro-level, but his football stats make up for a brilliant “what-if” scenario.

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LeBron James football recruiting

Urban Meyer is one of the greatest coaches in college football history. He worked as a wide receivers coach at Notre Dame from 1996 to 2000. Although Lebron was highly regarded as a basketball player in Ohio, Meyer was unaware of this fact.

Meyer even approached James to recruit him to play at Notre Dome but Lebron’s coach laughed off his idea. He recalls:

I didn’t know what he was laughing at, so we went down and sat in a room and he said, ‘Do you know who that is?’ and I said, ‘No’ and he said, ‘LeBron James’ and I said, ‘Who’s LeBron James?’ and he said, ‘He’ll be the next Michael Jordan.’ And I go, ‘Come on,’”

LeBron remembers this meeting and termed it as a cool idea back then. But for basketball fans, it worked out well and they saw the kid from Akron going on to become one of the greatest basketball players ever.

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What’s next for LeBron?

Currently, LeBron and his Lakers are atop the western conference standings. The 3-time NBA champion has combined well with fellow all-star Anthony Davis. The Lakers are the favorites to win the championships.

With Lebron playing some of his best basketball and the Lakers looking formidable, the King has a great chance to add a 4th NBA title to his kitty.

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