Peabody Magnet High School quarterback James Lucas IV has earned the moniker “Mr. Gridiron” because of his relentless dedication and commitment to Gridiron Football’s platform. James Lucas IV and his father James Lucas III have always shown that from the beginning.
When the younger Lucas was a sophomore, he and his father attended all five Gridiron Football Elite Camps when he was playing high school football at Bolton High School. Lucas immediately showed his athleticism and quickness at the Elite Camps. By each passing camp, he got better and more comfortable not only as an athlete, but as a quarterback too. From Woodlawn to St. Edmund to Jonesboro Hodge to Rayville to Northshore, Lucas’ confidence grew more and more. His confidence came back not only on the field, but in the classroom as he improved his GPA by over a point.
“It was just the competition for me. You get up there. You wake up that morning and you can go up against a four star quarterback that has 30 plus offers or you can go against somebody like you that is just as hungry as you are. That’s what makes these camps so great.”
Peabody Magnet High School and Sterling College signee James Lucas IV
At the end of the camp series, Lucas was ranked as the number six overall performer from the camp series. At Jonesboro Hodge, he recorded a very impressive 4.07 shuttle time and also jumped close to 10 feet in the broad jump. His numbers, work ethic, and steady improvement caught the eyes of the coaches including Andy Bryson and Marcus Randall.
For James Lucas III, the Gridiron Football Elite Camps were beneficial for his son’s development.
“Gridiron Football is the best platform in the United States to get your kids noticed and seen. Start bringing them early. Don’t wait until they are fixing to go to college before you bring them to a camp. Bring them when they are in junior high and early in high school so they can get comfortable doing the drills. The more comfortable they get whenever they are doing drills, the better they are going to perform. Nobody performs when they are uptight and nervous. When you are comfortable doing something, then you can really show what you got. Bring your kids to all the Gridiron camps because they will expose your kid to colleges all over the United States. Your kid can be seen all over the country if you go to a Gridiron camp.”
James Lucas III, father of James Lucas IV
As encouraging as the camp series was, Lucas was trying to get back to playing high school football as he had a great start to his prep career with a productive freshman campaign at Pineville High School where he threw for 1200 yards and 18 touchdown passes while adding an additional 300 rushing yards and 4 rushing touchdowns to his tally.
Unfortunately, Lucas had to really push the camp scene for his sophomore and junior years after transferring to two schools. His sophomore season, he transferred to Bolton High School and had to sit out because of transfer rules, but entering his junior year, Lucas transferred once again to Peabody High School after Bolton announced that they were not having a football team.
Sitting out not only one, but two years was certainly tough for James Lucas IV as he only had one more year to show his skills off. Fortunately, he was finally able to play and was granted eligibility for his senior season at Peabody, but even then, his athleticism and versatility allowed him to play multiple positions including QB, RB, H-Back, and TE. While still accounting for 500 yards and five touchdown passes in sparing action, Lucas wanted to truly show what he can do at the quarterback position when given the opportunity.
After waiting his opportunity for over two years, James Lucas IV finally got his opportunity to play the whole game at quarterback and what better way to showcase it at the 2024 Gridiron Football All-American Bowl Game.
It was perhaps one of if not the most talented quarterback class the premier All-Star game has experienced in terms of signal caller talent. On Andy’s team, which was the Lions, it featured two out of state quarterbacks in Escambia High School (Pensacola, FL) QB Nino Freeman and Hawley High School (Hawley, TX) record setting QB Keagan Ables. Meanwhile, Marcus’ team, which was the Tigers, featured Bunkie High School (Bunkie, LA) All-State QB Dillon Compton and Riverdale High School (Jefferson, LA) QB Rida Ghazzali, who was the New Orleans metro area leader in passing. Even though Lucas was the most inexperienced, it was his constant will, determination, and the fact that he came to the bowl game practices his junior season that helped him get prepared for the moment.
In the game, Lucas led two scoring drives while completing 4 of 8 passes for 51 yards including a nice throw on the run to CHEF (Baton Rouge, LA) WR Chase McCall for 24 yards. With all of the great quarterbacks in the game, James Lucas IV showed that he fits right in.
“You can’t go up there and show that it’s too big of a moment. You got to play the game like it is any other game. It doesn’t matter how good the guys are at the other side. It doesn’t matter. You just got to go over there and do it. I feel like that I went down there and did that by showing my skills.”
Peabody High School QB and Sterling College signee James Lucas IV
His success with the Gridiron Football brand certainly impressed Sterling College, which is a NAIA university in Sterling, Kansas. The Warriors offered an athletic scholarship to Lucas for him to play college football and on the week of signing day, decided that he was going to take his talents to play in the Sunflower State.
“I just love the atmosphere up there. Shoutout to Coach Porche and Coach Langford for reaching out to me. I went up there for a visit. It was like a second home. They treated me like I was already one of their players. It was amazing.”
“I am just most excited about having an opportunity. I am going to try my best to be an All-American my freshman year. I believe that will help me get a lot of recognition and that is my goal.”
Peabody Magnet High School and Sterling College signee James Lucas IV
Lucas was offered a scholarship for both academics and athletics in excess of $100,000 for four years.
Despite limited film throughout his high school career, James Lucas IV was able to find a way to still continue to play the sport he loves and get some of that recognition through Gridiron’s media platform.
“We really want to thank Gridiron Football for giving him the opportunity, because y’all have really helped him in his journey.”
“Y’all really make it feel like family. The kids all learn about each other. They become friends and he has met so many friends that he is still in contact with.”
Shonya Lucas, mother of James Lucas IV
“Gridiron Football has definitely helped him along the way. We are very appreciate of that. He has worked hard to show y’all what he can do. I was just glad that y’all were able to see his talent and allow him to shine on the big stage too. I feel like he did. When he got his opportunity to do his thing, he has always done it. That’s what I have always said about him. Just give him the opportunity and I think he can do it.”
“I really look forward to coming to some more camps even though he has already signed. We are going to be there to support and help the other kids.”
James Lucas III, father of James Lucas IV
Even though James Lucas IV will be leaving soon to compete for a starting quarterback spot at Sterling College, he will once again be at the Gridiron Football Elite Camps from the other side of things as a mentor to support and encourage the camp members of the importance of getting yourself out there.
“Gridiron has done most of the work for me. All of the young guys out there, all the underclassmen, the junior high guys, go to the camps. Gridiron is here for you. Go up there, show your skills. They are going to put you in the best situation and they have all the connections you need. I give a big shoutout to Gridiron for that.”
Peabody Magnet High School QB and Sterling College signee James Lucas IV
As one can tell, this journey has had its share of ups and downs, but make no mistake about it that Gridiron Football has been there every step of the way, and they will continue to follow his journey as it makes its next stage.
“I have learned from some of the greatest recruiters of all time like Sam Nader, Joe Womack, Frank Wilson, Ron Roberts, etc. I have learned that there are intangibles that you see in a prospect that are not always visible to the naked eye and I saw the It factor at the camps. I was shocked that he did not get more playing time his senior year. I staked my reputation out by inviting him to play in the 2024 Gridiron Football All-American Bowl Game. I am grateful for Coach Porsche by seeing the same thing. Going forward, he is going to be a stud in college football and a name to watch out for the next five years. I would not be shocked if he transfers to a DI before he graduates college. His 40 times and shuttle times are legit. I timed his 40 and Marcus Randall timed his shuttle. If Marcus says it is a 4.0, it is a 4.0. If I said it’s a 4.5, it’s a 4.5. These are the types of kids that we are looking for our Elite Camps and we are looking forward to the next group this year.”
Gridiron Football CEO Andy Bryson
James Lucas IV is the type of kid that Gridiron Football is looking for, which are those Diamond in the Roughs so if you are an up and coming player that wants to get their name out there, make sure to come to our camps and register for our first Elite Camp, which will be on Saturday, March 1st. Click the image below to register!
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