Safety transfer James Sample wants U of L starting job

New Louisville safety James Sample didn't beat around the bush on Tuesday.

He wants a starting job, and he wants one this fall.

"I wouldn't have come if I couldn't do that," he said.

A junior-college transfer, Sample stood out among his peers at the first U of L football practice on Tuesday morning. Granted, the 6-foot-2, 191-pound junior is two years older than most of the players he practiced with, but his height and length are eye-catching regardless of his surroundings.

Sample played two years at Washington, but he was hampered by injury problems that led to his departure from the program. He settled at American River College in California last fall before signing with Louisville this offseason.

He joins a team hoping to fill both safety spots left open by the departures of Calvin Pryor and Hakeem Smith, who are both on NFL rosters this fall.

"There's big shoes to fill, but I'm not trying to come here and do what he did," Sample said, referring specifically to Pryor. "I'm trying to make my own name and my own statement."

Louisville appears to have one safety spot dedicated to Terell Floyd, who started 26 games at cornerback over the first three years of his college career but moved positions to stabilize the Cards' secondary.

The other spot's up for grabs.

Gerod Holliman, a junior, was a four-star prospect out of high school and is penciled in as the starter on the team's preseason depth chart. Richard Benjamin, Jarrod Barnes, Chucky Williams and Terrence Ross were all listed as backups there, but recent roster edits on U of L's team site have Benjamin and Williams moving to cornerback.

That would leave Barnes, Holliman, Ross and Sample to fight to start next to Floyd. Sample got a late start because of clearance delays. He arrived on campus over the weekend, while Barnes and Holliman were starters during spring practice.

Ross returned from injury over the summer.

"I had to step up my game a little bit since I wasn't out here for the summer conditioning and stuff," Sample said. "I was really in my playbook back at home. That helped me.

"When we have time to get into the coaches office and go over film and the mistakes I did, that'll help more. Then I'll study on my own."

Of course, whoever wins the second safety job will have to fight for it again next fall as junior Josh Harvey-Clemons joins the fray. The former Georgia safety came to Louisville after he was dismissed from school in February.

The 6-5, 212-pound Harvey-Clemons worked well with Sample at Tuesday's practice, and together they looked the part. How that translates to actual on-field production is obviously a question for the future, but for now, Sample's hoping he can do his part to claim a job.

"It's just about making an impression," he said. "Your first impression is your best impression."