Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/109499
We all get along really well together." The receiver watched superstar receiver and fellow Cretin-Derham alum Michael Floyd excel at Notre Dame and get selected in the first round of the 2012 NFL WR James Onwualu Draft by the Arizona Cardinals. Onwualu trained with Floyd when he was getting ready to head to Notre Dame in 2009. The two have kept in close contact ever since. Onwualu said he was hooked on the Irish back in 2010 when he attended the Notre Dame-Navy game in East Rutherford, N.J., as a sophomore, despite the Midshipmen handing the Irish a 35-17 defeat in Irish head coach Brian Kelly's first season at the helm. ✦ 6-1 ✦ 205 ✦ Cretin-Derham Hall H.S. ✦ Saint Paul, Minn. Notable: Clocked at 4.53 seconds in the 40-yard dash … Led the Suburban East Conference in scoring with 116 points in 2012 … Hails from the same school as former Irish star wideout Michael Floyd and former Notre Dame offensive tackle Ryan Harris, who play in the NFL for the Arizona Cardinals and Houston Texans, respectively. Rankings: Ranked as a three-star player, the top prospect in Minnesota and the No. 58 receiver nationally by 247Sports … Rated as a four-star prospect, the top player in Minnesota and the No. 21 athlete nationally by Rivals.com … Tabbed as a four-star recruit, the No. 39 wideout in the land and the No. 296 overall player nationally by Scout.com … Listed as a four-star recruit, the top player in Minnesota and the No. 38 athlete in the country by ESPNU … Ranked as the No. 20 wide receiver in the nation by Tom Lemming. Statistics: Registered 574 yards and 12 touchdowns on 74 rushing attempts, plus recorded 26 catches for 421 yards and five more scores, as a senior … Averaged 26.1 yards on kickoff returns, and also made 10 tackles and returned an interception 94 yards for a TD … Compiled 428 receiving yards and five touchdowns on 27 catches as junior … Added 549 rushing yards and eight scores, and an interception and eight tackles … Finished sophomore season in 2010 with 420 rushing yards, 95 receiving yards, 70 kickoff return yards and five tackles while scoring three total touchdowns. Honors: Named a first-team all-state running back/receiver as a senior by the Associated Press and Minnesota Football Coaches Association … Selected as an all-state running back/wide receiver/defensive back by the St. Paul Pioneer Press … Listed as the top player in Minnesota on the Detroit Free-Press Best in the Midwest ratings. All-Star Games And Camps: Went to almost every Midwest camp … Turned down an invitation to the U.S. Army All-American Bowl because he planned to enroll early at Notre Dame and wanted to spend time with his family … Attended Nike's "The Opening" in Beaverton, Ore. Brian Kelly's Comments: "This is a very talented player. [Strength and conditioning coach] Paul Longo has got our guys in there already — and he really love his athletic ability. He's a versatile player — he's going to be on the offensive side of the ball, but if we ever got into a bind he certainly could play defense, as well. He has a great attitude, is just high energy, and was the first student to ever graduate early at Cretin-Derham High School." Cretin-Derham Coach Mike Scanlan's Comments: "I've rarely seen somebody as focused as James. He did not deviate from point A to point B. I've coached many focused and talented guys, but I don't know if any were as focused as him. I don't even know if he knows how good he is."