Countdown to Kickoff: 31 Days (James Halford)

Written by: TJ Inman (@TJHoosierHuddle)

#31

There are only 31 days until September 1st. For those that aren’t passionate IU football fans, that day may not mean much. But for those of you following this site, that means there are only 31 days until the Indiana Hoosiers kick off the 2016 season! Our countdown today focuses on a young man that has accomplished far more than most of us: redshirt senior linebacker James Halford. To the veterans of the Armed Services who are reading this (or to active military service members): thank you for your sacrifice and for your service.

James Halford

-Height: 6’1”
-Weight: 213 pounds
-Hometown: Antioch, Illinois (Carmel Catholic)
-Position: Linebacker

I’m going to cheat a bit here and quote an article I wrote for this site back in November of 2015. “James Halford is now a Division One football player and he may one day be making plays and firing up the crowd in Bloomington. That’s not why people should consider him a hero though. He’s already done things that far exceed anything he can ever accomplish on the football field. You see, James Halford is a United States Marine.”

Halford is a walk-on linebacker that came to IU after two tours of active duty as a Marine in Australia and parts of the Pacific. Halford served as an infantry man specializing as a TOW gunner that was cross-trained on machine guns. His athletic career began as a freshman at Carmel Catholic in Mundelein, Illinois as he joined the football team. However, after just one year, he left the sport to focus on becoming a standout runner. He was well on his way to a successful running career before back injuries forced him to tap out and relinquish competitive running. His grandfather had served in World War II and Halford was inspired by him to join the Marines. 

During his time in the Marines, Halford excelled in the weight room and in Marine football tournaments. His sister, a runner for St. Francis, had competed in Bloomington and thought Indiana University was worth looking into. Upon completing his second tour of duty, Halford reached out to IU and was told his weight room numbers and size would give him a shot to make the squad. Halford walked-on prior to the 2015 season but did not see any game action while serving on the scout team. However, he was named a captain for the Iowa game as Indiana honored veterans for Veteran’s Day. 

It’s unlikely Halford will play a part in the linebacker rotation but the redshirt senior might be able to work his way into a role on the special teams coverage unit. Regardless of how his final season as a member of the football program plays out, James Halford (still a member of the Individual Ready Reserve or IRR) has already done things more heroic than anything likely to occur on the gridiron during the 2016 season.

Share your thoughts on James Halford and the linebacker corps as a whole in our comments section (or on the message boards) and be sure to come back to Hoosier Huddle each day as the 2016 season inches ever closer!