James Letcher Jr. (born July 21, 1999) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

and

kick returner A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another positio ...

for the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: ''Les Alouettes de Montréal'') are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has disbanded twice and been re-established thrice. The Alouettes compe ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL).

College career

Letcher played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Washburn Ichabods The Washburn Ichabods are the athletic teams that represent Washburn University, located in Topeka, Kansas, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the NCAA Division II ranks, primarily competing in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics A ...

from 2017 to 2022. He used a redshirt medical season in 2018 after suffering a season-ending injury after three games and did not play in 2020 due to the season being cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. He appeared in 48 games, making 31 starts at receiver, where he had 228 receptions for 2,992 yards and 29 touchdowns. He also had three kickoff return touchdowns and two punt return touchdowns as he finished his career as Washburn's all-time leader with 5,623 all-purpose yards.

Professional career

On May 17, 2023, it was announced that Letcher had been signed by the

. Following training camp, he accepted a practice roster spot to begin the 2023 season as he was unable to surpass the team's incumbent kick returner,

Chandler Worthy Chandler Regis Worthy (born September 15, 1993) is an American professional football wide receiver who is a free agent. He was most recently a member of the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was signed by the Houston Te ...

. However, Worthy was injured in week 16 and Letcher made his professional debut on September 30, 2023, against the

Ottawa Redblacks The Ottawa Redblacks (officially stylized as REDBLACKS) (Canadian French, French: ) are a professional Canadian football team based in Ottawa, Ontario. The team plays in the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL ...

, where he had five punt returns for 90 yards and two kickoff returns for 69 yards, including a long of 50 yards. Two weeks later, on October 14, 2023, Letcher returned a missed field goal 125 yards for his first career touchdown. In the team's final game of the regular season, on October 28, 2023, he returned a punt 99 yards for a touchdown in the 22–20 win over the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home game ...

. He played in four games during the regular season where he had 23 punt returns for 392 yards and one touchdown, five kickoff returns for 109 yards, and one missed field goal return for 125 yards and one touchdown. Letcher also played in both playoff games and halted a comeback from the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...

in the East Final when he returned a kickoff 105 yards for a touchdown to restore a three-score lead for the Alouettes en route to a victory and a berth in the

110th Grey Cup The 110th Grey Cup was played to determine the Canadian Football League (CFL) champion for the 2023 CFL season, 2023 season. The game was played on November 19, 2023, at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, Ontario, Hamilton, Ontario, between the West ...

. In the

Grey Cup The Grey Cup () is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested between the winners ...

game, he had three kickoff returns for 77 yards and two punt returns for negative five yards in the Alouettes' victory over the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

Personal life

Letcher was raised by his parents Morris and Toyea Letcher.

References

External links

Montreal Alouettes bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Letcher, James Jr. 1999 births Living people American football wide receivers Canadian football wide receivers Montreal Alouettes players Players of American football from Kansas Sportspeople from Kansas City, Kansas Washburn Ichabods football players Players of Canadian football from Kansas