— Darius James was pretty sure he was OK Jessie Bates III Color Rush Jersey , even though he was sprawled face-first in the grass and his neck wouldn’t budge.

He wiggled his fingers and toes and had feeling in his arms and legs, giving the big offensive lineman some reassurance that he wasn’t paralyzed.

James was the starting right tackle for Auburn when his football career — and possibly much more — flashed before his eyes. It was Sept. 16, 2017, and the crowd of more than 80,000 packed into Jordan-Hare Stadium to watch the Tigers take on Mercer was silent.

“I actually was pretty scared out there because I couldn’t move my neck,” recalled James, who’s in camp this summer with the New York Jets. “When they rolled me over, I was good again.”

While blocking on a short run by Kamryn Pettway in the second quarter, James fell and teammate Mike Horton landed on James’ head. Doctors and trainers rushed out to treat James, who showed no movement initially. His neck was stabilized before he was flipped onto a backboard, strapped down and lifted onto a stretcher.

“They were like, ‘Just in case. It’s all precautionary. Don’t be scared,'” James said. “So, I wasn’t as scared when they came out there and talked to me. But it was a scary moment when it happened because nothing like that ever happened to me.”

It turned out to be a severe spasm in James’ neck, and it was relieved through treatment and massages. He was taken to a hospital and released after an evaluation.

James was back on the field for Auburn a week later for the Tigers’ game at Missouri.

“I feel like injuries, obstacles, anything like that helps you be a better player because once something happens to you http://www.seahawksauthorizedshops.com/authentic-barkevious-mingo-jersey , people think it’s the end,” James said. “But, nah, you can still come back from all that stuff.

“I like to think of myself as somebody who comes back, know what I mean?”

James proved his resilience just over a month later when he went down with what appeared to be a serious leg injury at Arkansas. Again, he was surrounded by doctors and trainers — and carted off the field in front of nervous teammates.

“I was just like, ‘Ahh, it keeps happening again, man. Just something else to bounce back from.’ And I always bounce back.”

Sure enough, X-rays were negative and James returned in time to play in Auburn’s next game at Texas A&M two weeks later.

“Darius has had a rough ride,” said offensive lineman Austin Golson, who was James’ teammate at Auburn and is now his roommate during camp with the Jets. “Every time he got hurt, he’d get back up and fought to get better. He’s just worked his tail off to get where he is today.”

James grew up in Killeen, Texas, and was considered one of the top high school offensive linemen in the country despite only playing in two games as a senior because of injuries.

He flashed remarkable versatility as a five-star prospect — playing center, offensive tackle, guard Authentic Ryan Switzer Jersey , defensive tackle and defensive end. Several scouting services rated him the No. 1 center in the country, while he was ranked as the top guard by another.

James ended up going to Texas and played in six games for the Longhorns during the 2014 season, including starts at right tackle against Baylor and Oklahoma. But he struggled and was pulled by coach Charlie Strong, and then James suffered a season-ending knee injury.

“I tore my ACL right before the OSU game and (Strong) was trying to bring some of his young people in and he said, ‘You can stay here and go to school or you can leave and play football,'” James recalled. “I thought it was the best opportunity for me to leave and play football.”

James transferred to Auburn and sat out a season, but then played in every game as a junior and senior — despite those two scary moments in his final year.

“The injuries I had, they weren’t that bad,” he said. “I came right back from them. I’m just ready to start this new journey.”

The 6-foot-4, 324-pound James signed with the Jets in May as an undrafted free agent. With New York, James faces a difficult path to stick on the active roster. There’s lots of competition for depth spots, and both he and Golson will need to have some standout performances in the preseason to impress coach Todd Bowles.

“We’ve been playing together for three years,” Golson said, “and hopefully we can keep it going, playing for the Jets.”

James has been used primarily at right tackle by the Jets during practice, but his versatility could help him. Bowles has typically kept backups who can be plugged in at various spots.

“It’s still early and I’m still feeling out the ropes,” James said Kurt Suzuki Jersey , “figuring out where I fit in, figuring out how I’m supposed to play, figuring out the speed, the playbook. Everything’s going so fast and nobody’s waiting for you.

“To me, it’s fun because nobody else really gets this opportunity. You can’t take anything for granted.”

DENVER — The Colorado Rockies begin a weekend series Friday with the Miami Marlins, hoping to finish a homestand by taking advantage of another National League East laggard.

A 6-4 win over the New York Mets on Thursday enabled the Rockies to take three of four games in that series. The Marlins (29-46), who were off Thursday, have the worst road record (15-25) in the NL but have won nine of their past 16 games overall. They are 3-3 on a road trip that included stops in Baltimore and San Francisco and will end in Denver.

“This has been a good little three-game swing for us,” Rockies manager Bud Black said after his team beat the Mets for the third straight time. “We were scuffling a little bit on the mound. We were starting to hit. So collectively, these three hopefully produce a little momentum going forward.”

The Rockies (37-38) broke their major-league record-tying string of allowing at least eight runs in nine consecutive home games but have won a season-high tying three straight games at Coors Field where they are 14-20.

Jon Gray (6-7 5.89) will start for the Rockies against Marlins left-hander Wei-Yin Chen (2-3, 5.91). Gray is 0-2, 7.36 in his past two starts, the most recent Sunday at Texas where he gave up one run in five innings and left after giving up five runs and facing four batters in the sixth. The last was Jurickson Profar, who hit a two-run homer that gave the Rangers a 6-5 lead. Gray ended up with a no-decision in what became a 13-12 loss to the Rangers.

Gray is 1-2, 6.75 in four starts against the Marlins and 3-3, 6.45 in seven starts at home this season.

Chen gave up three runs in six innings Saturday at Baltimore and won 5-4. It was his first victory in nine starts since he made his 2018 debut against the Rockies in Miami and held them to one run in 5 1/3 innings.

Chen is 1-3, 8.88 in six starts on the road this season. He’s 1-1 Adidas Ryan Johansen Jersey , 7.07 in three starts against the Rockies and will be pitching at Coors Field for the first time.

The Marlins scored three runs in the ninth Monday to beat the Giants 5-4. They are coming off a 6-5 loss Wednesday to the Giants. In that game, Miami came back from a 5-1 deficit and scored two runs in the seventh and two more in the ninth before J.B. Shuck struck out to end the game with runners on first and second. For a young team in a total rebuild like the Marlins, a stirring comeback win followed two games later by a close-but-not-quite effort can help.

“If we’re going to grow,” veteran Marlins outfielder Cameron Maybin said after Wednesday’s game, “these are the kinds of series that you need to be in. The type of series where the fans come at you. I think series like this can help a young team like us grow, more than anything.”

Unlike the Marlins, the Rockies, an NL wild-card team last year, have realistic aspirations of returning to the postseason, something they have never done in consecutive seasons.

A series win against Miami would complete a 5-2 homestand for the Rockies, a series sweep would make it 6-1 Regardless, a stumble against the Marlins would be ill-advised.

“We know that we’re a good team that’s got to take care of business, especially when we play at home and play teams that everybody will say on paper we’re going to win those games,” Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez said. “I think we’re making progress. We’re hitting the ball well. Pitching is making progress, too. We believe in each other. I think this is the perfect time for us to continue to play good baseball and finish strong the first half.”

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