Cincinnati and second-year coach Wes Miller landed a big name on the recruiting trail Tuesday night as Class of 2023 guard prospect Jizzle James, a four-star talent from Olympia High School in Orlando, Florida, who is the son of NFL Hall of Fame running back Edgerrin James, committed to the Bearcats. James chose Cincy over finalists Georgia and LSU.
James' commitment gives Cincinnati its second four-star pledge of the cycle for Miller and his staff. He ranks as the No. 64 overall player at 247Sports and 10th nationally at his position, helping lift the class in the Team Rankings from No. 48 all the way to No. 18 -- one spot ahead of Kansas. It cements Cincinnati as the No. 2 team in the rankings among all American Athletic Conference programs behind Houston, which has a three-to-two advantage at this point in total commitments for the cycle.
Cincinnati got involved fairly late in James' recruitment with an offer back in May, after Georgia offered and before LSU offered, but an official visit to see the campus recently seems to have sealed the deal.
"It was a great environment, the fans were great, I loved the atmosphere so it was a great visit," he told 247Sports this month. "Just being around the players and experiencing the culture, it felt like a family vibe. I got to go to a football game, I got to watch a practice, go in the weight room, I got to workout so it was cool. I learned how they were hard-nosed and got after it which is my type of style."
He visited Georgia this summer on an official basis and had plans for an official visit to LSU soon, but that now seems unlikely with his commitment landing Tuesday.
Cincinnati is once again a program on the ascent under Miller, who in his first season went 18-15 after five consecutive winning seasons at UNC Greensboro. The Bearcats' momentum under Miller has helped them secure not only a commitment from James but also from Rayvon Griffith, a four-star recruit who became the highest-rated commitment to the program since 2019 when he committed in May.