Video Breakdown: Troy James

Oklahoma added a fourth member to their 2017 defensive line class with Saturday's commitment from Baton Rouge (La.) Madison Prep strongside defensive end Troy James. The three-star now joins Isaiah Thomas, Zacchaeus McKinney, and Tyreece Lott in defensive line coach Calvin Thibodeaux's first full class in Norman.

While James will play defensive end in Oklahoma's three-man front, he was a one-man wrecking crew for his high school team. Madison Prep would use the three-star at defensive tackle, defensive end, stand him up as a rush linebacker, and as an offensive weapon at h-back.

When watching the newest Sooner pledge it's impossible to ignore his athleticism. His change of direction, balance, and flexibility are all unusually impressive for a player of his size and it's exactly the reason why he is such an effective runner.

It's also exactly why blockers stand little chance when allowing there to be space between them and James. His agility makes him nearly impossible to block in the open field by more lumbering offensive linemen. Eventually he must develop quicker counter moves off the line to keep guys on their heels, but that's not unusual for more quick, powerful, compact defensive linemen.

There may be some concern that James isn't the size of guys like Neville Gallimore, Austin Roberts, or Amani Bledsoe to hold his own in the running game or against bigger lines, but his height and weight are comparable to fellow defensive ends D.J. Ward and Kenneth Mann. Also, more importantly, the Louisiana native has a palpable tenaciousness that jumps off the screen from the moment you hit play.

James is a junkyard dog on the field in the best sense.

There is an effort - a fight - in James on every single play and that ferocious tenacity is often the difference between success and failure in the trenches. It's a quality that has lead a 6-foot-0, 270-pound mass of chaos like James Harrison to a Hall of Fame career.

You also don't have to be Bill Belichick to understand that a 265-pound defensive lineman with a 99-yard touchdown run under his belt has special tools for a football player.