James led the league in punting yards four times, a record since tied by Shane Lechler.
James attended the University of Florida in Gainesville, where he was a walk-on punter for the Gators teams under coaches Ray Graves and Doug Dickey from 1969 to 1971.
[2] He was the Gators' starting punter in 1970 and 1971, and kicked fifty-seven punts for an average distance of 40.3 yards during his senior year in 1971.
[5] He reached the peak of his profession, being selected three times for the Pro Bowl,[6] an NFL all-star game pitting the best players from the American Football Conference (AFC) against the best of the National Football Conference (NFC).
He held the position of executive director of Gator Boosters, Inc. at the University of Florida from 1986 to 2012, overseeing the booster fund-raising operation to fund athletic scholarships for Gator athletes.