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Indian River's James reverses course, will stay at ODU

LAMAREON JAMES
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NORFOLK, VA (WTKR)- After a day to reflect, LaMareon James has decided that Old Dominion is the place to be after all.

The Indian River product released a statement on social media on Wednesday, saying that he'll remain a Monarch.

"I will be remaining at Old Dominion where my coaches and academic staff and athletic staff have supported me through this entire process," James said in his statement.

The defensive back and kickoff returner noted that others were pushing him to make decisions for his future that ultimately would not make him happy. James indicated that he's been dealing with some difficult circumstances in his personal life.

"Losing multiple family members and friends became hard to carry and for a brief moment I thought a change of scenery would help," the former Brave continued. "I tried to outrun my emotions instead of [directly] dealing with my feelings and seeking proper support."

James is entering his sophomore season and tallied four tackles in limited action at cornerback, but he burst onto the scene on special teams. His 100 yard kickoff return for a touchdown on October 30 against Louisiana Tech was the first kickoff return TD in program history and he repeated the 100 yard touchdown effort on December 20 to open the Myrtle Beach Bowl. His 29.4 yards per kickoff return were good enough to rank him ninth in the nation.

James starred at running back and defensive back at Indian River and was ranked as top ten recruit in the commonwealth.

Old Dominion opens its season on September 2 at home against Virginia Tech.