So far this season the Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary football team has been ready for anything that came their way on the football field, that was until Tuesday.
Members of the state's third ranked Division III team were shocked when two-time NBA MVP LeBron James showed up for practice wearing full pads and took part in the late afternoon session. "I not gonna lie, it was pretty cool to see him out there," said starting quarterback Kevin Besser.
James borrowed the equipment and jersey of #13 Clayton Uecker, who did not practice today due to injury. Uecker is also the tallest player on the SVSM roster at 6'5". SVSM running back Sae'Von Fitzgerald said James looked just like every other member of the team with a helmet on. "He wore everything. Shoulder pads, helmet, visor... everything," said Fitzgerald.
But when it came to tackling, James was off limits. "Our defensive backs were allowed to jam him at the line of scrimmage," said Fitzgerald. "But he took no contact after that. Coach [Dan Borman] said we shouldn't tackle him."
While James looked like one of the guys, according to Besser, he didn't play like one. "He caught everything, he didn't drop a pass," the quarterback said. "I probably threw six or seven passes his way and he went up and got everything."
Besser and Fitzgerald said James practiced with the team for about an hour and since it was a full scale practice with a team vying for a state title, no members of the team shot video or got a picture with the two-time MVP. "We were worrying about practice," said Fitgerald. "But it was cool to be out there with him."
After wrapping up the practice James posted to his Twitter account,"Just got done practicing with the St.V Varsity football team, full pads and all. Felt great being back on the field. Should I?"