The pressure cooker of picking a future wife from 32 contestants on 'The Bachelor' shouldn't be a problem for
Matt James. A former multi-sport standout at
Sanderson (Raleigh, N.C.) and football player at Wake Forest, he has performed in front of big audiences before.
At Sanderson, the 6-foot-5 James participated in football, basketball and track and field. As a senior on the gridiron, he accounted for 716 receiving yards and four touchdowns. He set schools records in five different events in track and field and graduated with a 3.7 grade point average.
His career at Wake Forest was derailed by injuries but he played in nine games as a senior with 40 receptions for 401 yards.
James was originally cast to be one of 25 men vying for the attention of Clare Crawley on the 'The Bachelorette' but the pandemic altered plans. He will be the first black male lead on the popular reality show, which premieres tonight on ABC.
