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Kaiden James is a star on the rise for the Callaway football team. The sophomore wide receiver/defensive back has been tormenting opposing players all season long.

After being held to just one catch for 10 yards in the season opener, James responded in week two against Opelika with seven catches for 158 yards.

“It felt really good to go out there and show them what I can do, but we wanted to win that game,” James said.

This was just the beginning of a hot start to the season for James. Unfortunately, he could not keep up the momentum right away as he missed the Cavaliers’ third game of the season against Cook with an injury. Watching his team put together their first win of the season from the sidelines was a tough experience.

“That was very tough,” James said, shaking his head. “I wanted to be out there with the guys.”

After a week on the sidelines, James returned in a big way in Callaway’s fourth game of the season against Columbia. The star wide receiver caught three passes for 36 and the game-winning touchdown with 30 seconds left in the game.

“It was an amazing feeling really,” James said. “Those are the moments that we work every day at practice for.”

Through four games, James leads the team in receiving yards with 243.

Offense is not the only place that James makes a big impact. The sophomore has registered at least one tackle in each game he has played this season. With his long and physical frame, he is rarely targeted by the opposing team’s quarterback.

That long and physical frame was used quite differently in youth football. For the longest time, James was blocking for other players. Naturally, coaches saw how explosive he could be and moved him to wide receiver in the seventh grade.

James played sporadically as a freshman, but has become entrenched in the lineup this season. He was already receiving college attention as early as last year, receiving offers from Alabama and Georgia Southern among others. James keeps a cool head about it and has focused more on getting better with the Cavaliers before planning out the next stage of his journey just yet.

“The process is going very well, but I’m not really focused on that right now, I’m just going out there and enjoying playing every game,” James said. 

The meteoric rise on the gridiron might soon be matched by his time on the court. With a large senior class for the 2023-24 basketball team departing earlier this year, it will now be time for James to prove himself a true two-sport star for the Cavaliers.

“When I was a little kid, I used to always imagine playing at Callaway High School,” James said, flashing a big smile.