The comeback story of Chargers’ Derwin James: ‘I’m coming back to be dominant’

Derwin James, the freakish athlete for Auburndale High School, was at the free throw line with an opportunity to win a road playoff game against Rockledge.

With the score tied and two seconds left in regulation, the opposing coach called two timeouts to ice the then-freshman forward. James was alone with his thoughts as the crowd rooted against him.

“The spotlight was just on him,” recalled Eric Robinson, Auburndale’s varsity basketball coach. “I remember shaking my head and feeling bad for the kid because he was put in that position of having to come through as a ninth grader.”

James missed both free throws and was forced to prepare for overtime in the first round of the 2012 Florida boys state basketball playoffs.

“I just gave him a hug after he missed and told him we’re going to make up for it in overtime and get this win,” Robinson said before the Bloodhounds lost 67-63 in overtime.

Nearly 10 years later, Robinson and James haven’t spoken about the missed free throws. Initially, it was because there was no need to remind a 15-year-old about his disappointment when the outcome wasn’t going to change. But then it quickly became an afterthought.

James had other priorities as the school’s star football player with an offer from Florida State. He was also a sprinter and long jumper for the school’s track and field team in the spring.

But the cheerful freshman still used his disappointment with his free throw performance as motivation to improve in basketball, a sport he didn’t play before high school.

As a freshman, James was already better than most football players in Polk County, but that wasn’t good enough for the ultra competitive James, who needs to be great at everything he does.

James returned to the hardwood his sophomore season as a defensive menace who could guard any position. He did the dirty work and was on the receiving end of many alley-oop dunks during Auburndale’s memorable 25-4 season.

DEVASTATING SUMMERS

The disappointment of missing two free throws in high school doesn’t compare to what the Chargers’ star safety has endured the past two seasons.

James, the most beloved and respected player on every team he’s been on, had the worst luck on the Chargers for back-to-back summers.

“I was devastated because I had just got hurt on that same field,” James said about the knee injury he sustained in last year’s training camp, nearly a year after his foot injury in August of 2019.

When James, 25, injured his fifth metatarsal on his right foot while celebrating a play during a joint scrimmage against the New Orleans Saints, there was a sense on the Chargers that they could stay afloat until James returned. He missed the first 11 games of the 2019 season and the Chargers finished 5-11.

When it happened again the following training camp, there was no hope of a James comeback, at least not for that season. The torn meniscus in his right knee sidelined James for the entire 2020 season. The Chargers missed the postseason for a second consecutive year and finished 7-9.

James asked, “Why me?” And the Chargers asked, “Why him?”

Many went to James’ house soon after his knee injury to lift his spirits, including former teammates Casey Hayward and Melvin Ingram, former Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn, and David Mulugheta, James’ agent.

“Having those guys cheered me up at the moment, but that (expletive) was devastating,” James said.

Perhaps James didn’t want to discuss the missed free throws as a freshman, but he has no issues revisiting his injuries. It’s a part of his comeback story, one he wants to tell with a dominant ending — even better than his memorable rookie season in 2018 when he was named an All-Pro at two positions.

“A lot of times guys get injured and they just want to try to come back and just to be healthy,” James said. “No, I’m coming back to be dominant. To be the same person that I was before, and that’s the kind of mindset I look at it as.”

It’s all starting to come together for James in his fourth NFL season. He got through August healthy, just one of many accomplishments on his lengthy checklist for 2021. Next on the list will be playing in Sunday’s season opener against the Washington Football Team.

“This year I told myself, ‘Everything, I will speak it to existence,’” James said. “I was positive. I’m like, ‘We’re gonna get healthy, we’re gonna make it to the season, we’re gonna speak it to existence.’ Because everything you say with a tongue is powerful. That’s why I believe it.”

Leadership and positivity are two of many traits that make James “one of a kind,” according to Chargers nose tackle Linval Joseph.

He’s the heart and soul of the Chargers, and he’s probably their most talented player — even on a roster that features quarterback Justin Herbert, wide receiver Keenan Allen and edge rusher Joey Bosa.

James has been compared to legendary safeties Ed Reed, Brian Dawkins and the late Sean Taylor. Current and former NFL players are clamoring for James’ return, and many people in central Florida are itching to watch James on Sundays.

The traits that make Derwin James Jr. special — leadership, competitiveness, versatility, freakish athleticism — were on display in his youth while growing up in Auburndale and Haines City, two cities an hour east of Tampa, Florida.

THE MAKING OF DERWIN JAMES Jr.

“Freakish athlete” were the first two words that Robinson uttered when asked about the kid who wore No. 23 on the Auburndale basketball team for the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons.

“I couldn’t forget him,” said Rick Smith, who coached James in football and in track and field at Auburndale.

Without much prior experience, James jumped 20 feet, 11 inches in his first long jump competition as a freshman. He finished the event with a high of 21 feet, 10.75 inches.

“We only had drills at this point, but he could not stand to not actually compete,” Smith recalled about James. “So I said, ‘OK, I’ll let you do one jump and if you look like you know what you’re doing, I’ll let you do the rest.’ … He nailed everything. I’m like, ‘Yeah, you can keep jumping.’”

Before James was a three-sport high school athlete, he played left tackle for his pop warner team at age 6. James was needed on the offensive line because there was a lack of size on the roster.

“I had me a couple pancakes,” James said about playing left tackle. “My coach used to always get hyped and get crunked. Like that used to make the coaches get excited, especially in pop warner. Especially if we’re skinny guys getting pancake blocks on the line. I got me a couple just being more athletic and physical than guys.”

The following football season, James moved to running back and primarily played the position until his freshman season at Auburndale High School. James grew up in Haines City, but his mother, Shanita Russell, moved the family to Auburndale when James was in fifth grade to keep him out of trouble.

James was required to play junior varsity on the Auburndale football team because the coaches wanted the freshmen together to build camaraderie before jumping to varsity. But James didn’t want to play on Thursday nights. He knew he belonged on Friday nights, and so did most of the coaches.

James noticed a safety opening on varsity and pushed the head coach to play him there. He eventually listened and offered James a tryout in the form of an old school Oklahoma drill.

The ball was put on the 5-yard line with two defensive tackles and two offensive linemen. James, the brash freshman, lined up at safety and needed to prevent the senior running back with “hella offers” from crossing the goal line.

“I had to meet him at the hole two times,” James recalled. “I won those drills and then my coach said, ‘That’s enough, he’s playing varsity.’”

For James’ first varsity game, he had two interceptions. He played on defense, offense and special teams.

“Poor guy it seemed like he was playing every down,” said Smith, who’s now the behavior interventionist at Auburndale.

By James’ sophomore year, there was no feeling sorry for him. He was able to handle the workload after putting in countless hours in the weight room.

James went from bench pressing about 135 pounds as a freshman to more than 300 pounds by his sophomore year.

“He was a dog, as we would say,” Smith said. “We would get in there and he’d lift those weights. Those weights were clanking around.”

James’ father, Derwin Sr., is a football legend at Haines City, but Robinson is convinced the younger James got his weight-room competitiveness from his mother.

“I’ll tell you, man, I seen her at the gym and my mouth has just dropped, like, the hard work that she puts in at the gym,” Robinson said. “I’ve told her before, ‘OK, I see where your son gets it from.’ Knowing how good dad was at school and then just seeing her in the gym putting in work at the gym, like there was no way (James) could lose … he got it from both sides.”

James didn’t miss a weightlifting session his freshman year, and that included both sessions, one with the upperclassmen and the other with the younger students.

James wanted to push himself by lifting with the older students, but he didn’t want to leave behind his fellow freshmen.

“What (James) ended up doing was he would lift with the older guys and any of the younger guys who would come in, he would go and help them and coach them up on how to lift,” Smith recalled. “That was my first inclination. ‘Hey, man, this guy is a little bit different.’”

Smith quickly noticed James’ leadership qualities, but his determination to be better in many areas were just as noticeable. James was getting A grades in all his classes and asked Smith to help get him in the tougher classes.

“I tell my athletes all the time about this,” Smith said. “Derwin was the kind of guy that challenged himself. He came to me one time and he asked me about getting into harder classes. … He’s always challenging himself.”

Robinson went to every Auburndale football game in the fall of 2011 looking to recruit James to the basketball team.

“Every time (James) turned his shoulder on Friday night, I was right there,” said Robinson, who’s entering his 20th season at Auburndale. “So I built that relationship with him.”

James had Nick Saban at Alabama and coaches at Miami and Clemson trying to get him to decommit from Florida State. But Robinson was also in a recruiting battle for James because the wrestling coach wanted James for the winter season.

“He probably would have been a state champion if he would have wrestled,” Robinson said. “I just got lucky enough to get the chance to coach him.”

James was torn when he had the opportunity to return to his hometown and transfer to Haines City High School for his junior and senior years. He was loyal to his teammates at Auburndale, but he couldn’t pass on the chance to sport the green and white at his family’s alma mater.

COMEBACK STORY

James’ athletic ability is a reason why he’s universally respected in the NFL, but it’s also because of his leadership, loyalty and passion.

“I feel like I can relate to him so well because we just have that same love, just love playing football,” Chargers linebacker Kenneth Murray said about James. “You could put me on the other side of the world, in like Antarctica, and give me a football and I’ll be fine. He has that same attitude.

“He loves the game. He wants to be the best. He’s competing to be the best. When you have guys like that on the team, it makes it easier for everyone else around you. I enjoy competing with him and I enjoy being out there with him. Looking forward to dominating this season with him.”

No one is doubting James’ comeback, especially not after the dominant training camp he had last month. He’s still the same Derwin James, the do-it-all defensive stud who always seeks the best.

James challenged Allen, a four-time Pro Bowl wideout, throughout training camp, and called out 49ers All-Pro tight end George Kittle when his team came to Costa Mesa for joint practices.

“He’s just kind of a freak of nature,” Kittle said after James got in front of him at the goal line to intercept a Jimmy Garoppolo pass and return it for a touchdown to end the joint practice. “He can do whatever you like. He can follow. He can chase you, he can be in your hip, he can play on top, he can try to jam you at the line.”

James is back to playing safety, linebacker, cornerback and edge rusher for the Chargers. But the positionless player picked up two more roles for the 2021 season. He’ll be calling the plays for the defense and was named a team captain to start the season.

It’s strange that the Chargers’ top leader has never started a season with a “C” on his jersey. But he quickly won over his teammates during his rookie season and was providing leadership from afar while rehabbing his injuries to start the past two seasons.

Chargers coach Brandon Staley has coached the NFL’s best defensive players in the past four years, from the Rams’ Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey to the Chicago Bears’ Khalil Mack to the Denver Broncos’ Von Miller and Justin Simmons.

But Staley made a case for why the 6-foot-2, 215-pound James is the most complete player in the NFL.

“There aren’t many players like him in the league on any side of the ball,” Staley said. “There aren’t many players like Derwin James because you have rare talent. Rare talent. Rare size and speed, which are critical factors for the position. He has rare skills for the position. He can do anything on the field and play anywhere. He’s your signal-caller. I’m not aware of any other (defensive backs) in the league that are the signal caller.

“You can make the case that he’s the leader of our entire football team and the face of your football team — certainly one of them. I haven’t been around too many guys like that regardless of the position. Normally, it’s quarterbacks. Derwin is one of the few defensive players that I’m aware of in the league that can carry that mantle.”

Bosa wants to see James put it all together in 2021 and he’s not going to let anyone get in the way. That’s why Bosa shoved 49ers wide receiver River Cracraft when he tried to get in James’ face during the joint practices.

“Joey don’t even act like that,” James said about Bosa participating in the camp scuffle. “That’s my brother. I treat all them boys as my brothers. Every day is bigger than football for me. You can ask anybody in the locker room. I’m always, ‘Man, how’s your family?’ I want to have a relationship bigger than football. That way when we are in the heat of the battle, I know you got my back.

“See, I know Joey Bosa has my back. Same thing vice versa, man. I have his back.”

It makes Bosa happy when he sees pictures of him and James on the field together because it’s a glimpse of what they plan to do for the 2021 season.

“I love looking at pictures of us both lining up on the edge together,” Bosa said. “It’s a scary sight. I always say he’s one of the best in the league and I truly believe that at any position, honestly. He’s one of the most gifted athletes I’ve ever seen. And his energy is unbelievable. So just to see him out there happy and healthy, it’s great.”

It’s hard not to be happy for James, just like it was hard not to be disappointed for him when the devastating injuries occurred.

“The kid always had a smile on his face,” Robinson said. “He just continues to bounce back. I continue to see that practice clip of him and Keenan Allen going at it. I’ve seen that clip probably 20 times. And man, I just get chills every time I see it because it just shows the hard work.”

James’ latest comeback story is almost complete. Auburndale and Haines City will be watching James and Chargers start the season Sunday in Washington.

They want to see James dominate the 2021 season.

“I’m healthy,” James said. “Why not?”