Former Clemson star LB James Skalski joins Oklahoma coaching staff as graduate assistant

Former Clemson star linebacker James Skalski officially joined the Oklahoma Sooners’ coaching staff on Sunday, he announced on his Instagram page. He joined their staff as a defensive graduate assistant, the role that most coaches across the country take to begin their college football coaching careers. Skalski posted a picture of himself in a white Oklahoma coaches’ jacket, with the caption, “Coach Skalski. Swipe to see it come full circle. #Boomer.”

In joining the Sooners’ coaching staff, Skalski reunites with his old defensive coordinator for the Clemson Tigers, Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables. The gifted linebacker was one of the best players in all of college football during his time with Clemson. He racked up 310 tackles, 20.5 tackles for loss, 10.0 sacks, 12 pass breakups, two fumble recoveries, and a forced fumble. During his prolific career with the Tigers, he became the only player to ever play in and win five ACC Championship games. Skalski also played in 69 career games in six seasons — tying the school record and college football record.

Former Clemson linebacker @JamesSkalski will start his coaching career and reunite with Brent Venables at Oklahoma, Skalski announced on his Instagram today. pic.twitter.com/COsqvSv1De

— Justin Robertson (@j_probertson) January 23, 2023

The 6-foot, 228-pound linebacker was named first-team All-ACC in 2021, after he racked up 100 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, and six pass breakups. In 2020, he was named second-team All-ACC after tallying 44 tackles, 1.5 sacks, two pass breakups, and a fumble recovery that he returned 17 yards for a touchdown. In 2019, he also had another 100-plus tackle season, racking up 105 tackles — ranking second on the team in the stat category.

In the 2021 AllState Sugar Bowl against Ohio State, Skalski was called for one of the more famous targeting penalties in college football history, when he lowered his helmet and absolutely leveled Buckeyes’ quarterback Justin Fields in the back. Skalski was ejected from the game following the hit.

He’s the classic case of an underdog who worked and developed his football skills throughout the progression of his career, transforming himself into one of the best players in the nation. It’ll be interesting to follow his college football coaching career, because he was an exceptional leader during his time with the Clemson Tigers.

Coming out of Northgate High School (Newnan, Georgia), he was rated as the No. 76 linebacker in the country and a three-star prospect, according to the On3 Consensus Rankings for the 2016 cycle.