Ohio State Buckeyes Tried To Recruit LeBron James for Football

The Ohio State Buckeyes attempted to recruit LeBron James to play football back in the day.

Dec 2, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first quarter at Target Center. / Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

Many Ohio State Buckeyes fans are aware that Los Angeles Lakers' superstar LeBron James is a big fan of Ohio State. They also know that he considered playing basketball for the Buckeyes.

What fans may not know is that Ohio State wanted James to play football for them.

That story was revealed recently by former Buckeyes' head coach Jim Tressel.

In a post on X on Tuesday, Tressel told the story about his attempt to recruit "King James" to Columbus.

"Back in the day, I tried convincing King James to play a year of football at Ohio State. He had the hands, the speed, and that legendary smile. But he said, 'I don't think so, Coach.'"

Back in the day, I tried convincing @KingJames to play a year of football at @OhioStateFB. He had the hands, the speed, and that legendary smile. But he said, 'I don't think so, Coach.'

Thank you to @MrCavalier34 for taking the time to sit down with us.

Full episode -… pic.twitter.com/FWlC53FSrb

— Jim Tressel (@JimTressel5) December 3, 2024

Seeing LeBron play football for Ohio State would have been awesome. With the size, speed, and athleticism that he possesses, James could have been a very successful tight end or wide receiver.

Instead, James has become arguably the best NBA player to ever play the game.

During his high school career, James was a star wide receiver for St. Vincent-St. Mary's. He did receive recruitment efforts from some Division I programs. Another team that has been connected to his recruitment is Notre Dame.

Despite teams trying to convince LeBron to play football, the superstar made the right choice.

Throughout his NBA career, James has put up monstrous numbers in every aspect. He has played in 1,513 career games, with 1,511 of them being starts. In those games, he has averaged 27.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, 7.4 assists, and 1.5 steals per game.

Obviously, this is still a cool story. Tressel coming out years later and talking about it is awesome. But, it didn't work out and fans can only wonder about what could have been.