Top Notre Dame recruit Matt James dies in fall
- Saturday, April 3, 2010 4:36 PM
- Written By: Garrett Sabelhaus
In a devastating incident Friday evening in Florida, local high school standout offensive lineman Matt James died after a fall from a hotel balcony while vacationing on spring break.
James, 17, was a senior at Cincinnati's St. Xavier High School; one of, if not the, best programs in a city filled with high school talent. James was deciding between a few schools including the University of Cincinnati before Brian Kelly left for Notre Dame. He then chose the Irish saying he was excited to be a part of Kelly's first Notre Dame class.
It all came to an end Friday night, less than two months from his graduation and a week from his 18th birthday.
It's an extremely sad situation and details of the accident are unclear. Classmate and teammate Luke Massa was on the trip as well and remained unharmed. Massa has also committed to Notre Dame as a quarterback.
I can't help but feel awful for this kid and his family. So young and so much left to do in life but died probably doing what all kids his age and my age do all the time. He was on his spring break and probably (although not confirmed) drinking and having a good time.
He was being a kid.
Situations like this apparently aren't all that rare though. A similar situation at a nearby hotel in Florida occured less than two weeks ago.
St. Xavier and high school football in Cincinnati has pumped out Division 1 athletes for years. Fan bases are so big on Friday nights that UC's Nippert Stadium and the Cincinnati Bengals' Paul Brown Stadium are often used for playoff games to accomodate the large fan bases.
