Jenorris "Jeno" James (born January 12, 1977) is an American former 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 ...

player who was an

offensive guard Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative (Netherlands), Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tende ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He 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 ...

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 26,800 undergraduate students, over 6,100 post-graduate students, and a tota ...

Early life

James started on both the offensive and defensive lines for three seasons at

Sidney Lanier High School Sidney Lanier High School was a Public school (government funded), public high school in Montgomery, Alabama, United States. History Established in 1910 on the southern outskirts of downtown Montgomery, Alabama, the school was named for a South ...

in Montgomery, Alabama. As a senior, was an all-state selection as an

offensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line ( ...

College career

James started all 47 games for the

Auburn Tigers The Auburn Tigers are the athletic teams representing Auburn University, a public four-year university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. The Auburn Tigers compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) a ...

over his four-year career (1996–99), including the final three seasons at left tackle. As a redshirt freshman in 1996, he split time between left and right tackle. As a sophomore, he was a second-team

All-Southeastern Conference The All-SEC football team is an annual Southeastern Conference (SEC) honor bestowed on the best players in the conference following every college football season. Seasons

Following is a list of all-conference teams in the history of the SEC: ...

pick by the coaches. He received the team's attitude and effort award in his junior campaign of 1998.

Professional career

Carolina Panthers

James was selected by the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

in the sixth round (182nd overall) of the

2000 NFL draft The 2000 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur U.S. college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 15– 16, 2000, at the Theat ...

. He played in all 16 games in his rookie season, including four starts at left tackle. He entered a game against the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

on October 22 at left tackle in place of the injured Clarence Jones. James' first

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

start came at left tackle in a Sunday night contest at the

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on November 5, marking the first of four straight starts at that spot. In 2001, James was moved to the offensive guard spot after spending his rookie season at

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tendency to cause acts of violence by the ...

. He saw action in 14 games, starting six of them, including five at right guard and one at left guard. He was inactive for a pair of contests. His first start of the season came at left guard at the San Francisco 49ers on October 7. He opened at right guard each of the final five games of the year. James played in nine games during the 2002 season, including two starts at left guard. He was inactive for seven contests. He started the season opener against the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

on September 8, and a game at the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

on October 20. James, and the Panthers as a whole, experienced a breakout season in 2003. He started all 16 regular season games and all four post-season contests at left guard for the

NFC NFC usually refers to: * Near-field communication, a set of communication protocols for electronic devices * National Football Conference, part of US National Football League NFC may also refer to: Psychology * Need for cognition, in psychol ...

Champion Panthers. James was part of a line that led a running game which finished seventh in the NFL, averaging 130.7 yards per game and 4.0 yards per rush attempt.

Running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

Stephen Davis finished third in the NFC in rushing with 1,444 yards. In addition, Carolina's line allowed just 27 sacks on the season - the eighth-lowest total in the NFL - and a new franchise single-season record.

Miami Dolphins

With the Panthers and James remaining far apart on contract negotiations when he was a free agent in 2004, James instead opted to sign with the Miami Dolphins. James received a five-year contract worth approximately $21.3 million from the Dolphins. James started all 14 games in which he played at left guard in his first season with the Dolphins. He was injured on November 7 when

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

Sammy Morris Samuel Morris III (born March 23, 1977) is a former American football running back in the National Football League (NFL) for the Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots and Dallas Cowboys. He was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the f ...

landed on his leg. James underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee on November 9 and was inactive for two games as a result of the surgery. James started all 16 games at left guard in 2005. He was part of a line that yielded just 26 sacks (the fourth-lowest total in the NFL), and led a running game that averaged 118.6 yards an outing and 4.3 yards per rush attempt, which ranked seventh and fourth in the AFC, respectively. He took part in all but one offensive snap over the course of the season, as he participated in the most snaps of any Dolphins offensive lineman in 2005. Like many of the team's offensive linemen, James struggled some in 2006. Inconsistency and poor play at the left tackle and center positions that surround James did not help either. James started at left guard the first nine games this season, but was inactive the next five games while recovering from two subsequent

arthroscopic Arthroscopy (also called arthroscopic or keyhole surgery) is a minimally invasive surgical procedure on a joint in which an examination and sometimes treatment of damage is performed using an arthroscope, an endoscope that is inserted into the j ...

surgeries on his right knee. James was placed on Injured Reserve on December 19, ending his season. Though James was signed with the Dolphins through 2009, he was released at the beginning of free agency on March 2, 200

James was due to make $2.5 million for the 2007 season.

Personal life

Jeno is married and has a daughter. He majored in human development at Auburn. He enjoys reading and public speaking during his spare time.

References

External links

January 2005 interview with Phinatics.comMiami Dolphins bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Jeno 1977 births Living people American football offensive linemen Sidney Lanier High School alumni Auburn Tigers football players Players of American football from Montgomery, Alabama Carolina Panthers players Miami Dolphins players