Indiana University Athletics
Halford Humble As A Walk-On After Marine Service
11/4/2015 3:56:00 PM | Football
By: Sam Beishuizen | Twitter
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - James Halford didn't want to talk about it.
But he was going to.
Halford, a 26-year-old veteran of two tours of active duty in Australia and various parts of the Pacific as a U.S. Marine, sat at a table in the Henke Hall of Champions surrounded by media members interested in his story. The walk-on downplays his accomplishments as he shares them.
He didn't serve for the attention.
"Nothing spectacular," Halford says. "Nothing to brag about. We usually don't go into it too much."
Halford, a student again pursuing a degree in secondary education in hopes of one day becoming a school teacher, now suddenly plays football in the Big Ten East where the defending national champions call home. He studies football tendencies now, not military strategies. He prefers talking about the game.
Bloomington is a world away from the active military, a job Halford would rather not go into detail about. He was in the infantry where he trained almost constantly all day and all night for months at a time keeping his assault skills sharp. He specialized as a tow gunner and cross-trained on machine guns.
Halford can't immediately recall how long he served overseas. His best guess is that it was either 13 or 14 months. When people ask him about his job, he normally lies and says he's a construction worker to avoid going into the details of the armed forces.
"Just because I was in the Marines, I don't deserve any special treatment," Halford said. "I feel like it's service for a reason. You serve for the country, not to get attention. I almost hate kind of getting a little extra attention just because I served."
Organized football is still new to Halford. He only played one year as a freshman at Carmel Catholic in Mundelein, Ill., before quitting to focus on track and field where he was a standout runner. He picked up a handful of Division II offers before a lower back injury prompted him to give up competitive running and join the Marines to serve his country like his Grandfather, a World War II veteran, had done before him.
"That was my inspiration," Halford said. "He'd definitely be proud."
Having completed his four active years of service, Halford is now considered part of the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR). He doesn't train and isn't necessarily expected to return overseas, but if something were to break out, he could be reactivated at any time and return to active duty.
While serving, Halford would have conversations with the men he worked alongside about his dreams of playing college football when he returned. He knew it was a long shot of sorts, maybe even a pipe dream, but he was a standout in the weight room and during Marine football tournaments.
Friends and family, including former All-American track standout sister Hilary, supported Halford's dreams of playing. By chance, Halford's sister told him to potentially look into Indiana.
She had competed for St. Francis as a runner in Bloomington and liked the campus.
Not knowing much about Indiana, Halford contacted assistant athletic director for alumni relations Mark Deal about two years ago and discussed walk-on tryouts. The more the two talked, the more realistic playing football at Indiana seemed to be.
"They told me based on my numbers, I might have a shot," Halford said. "I told them I'll apply to IU and come here."
Halford left active duty with the Marines on Aug. 1 and was in Bloomington later that month with about 15 other hopefuls for four days of walk-on tryouts. Halford, who's listed at 6-foot-1, 215 pounds, didn't really have a position he was trying out for in particular. He just wanted to make the team.
Throughout the tryout, Halford said he was inspired by his mother Lisa. She had contracted a rare spine disease that he said had her on her deathbed while he was on active duty.
Thanks to what Halford described as a miraculous recovery, Lisa recovered well enough to have recently gone on a run with her son and is now cheering her son on from afar.
"She was my motivation," Halford said.
The coaches saw enough in Halford during those four days to offer him a position on the scout team. He's technically classified as a linebacker and spends the majority of his time working with linebackers coach William Inge, but Halford said he also spends time at fullback and just about anywhere else he can line up.
At this point, he doesn't even know his true position.
"To be honest, I'm so raw I couldn't tell you," Halford said. "I'm open to anything, but I've been working with Coach Inge a lot. It seems to be going well so far, so we'll see. In the offseason, maybe it will change. If we keep progressing, maybe we'll see. I'm just worried about helping the scout team now."
Halford doesn't expect to be on the field any time soon. After all, he's only been a football player for three months now. He said he's just thankful for the opportunity head coach Kevin Wilson has given him to help on the scout team.
At practice, Halford said he fits right in with his teammates who are mostly younger than him. Many of the players he shares a locker room with don't know all he's gone through with the Marines, which is how he likes to keep it.
He doesn't need the attention. He'd rather earn it with his game.
That's the Marine way.
"I feel like I'm just one of the boys," Halford said. "This says a lot about the program. They have a guy who played one year of high school ball a tryout. It allowed me to fulfill a dream."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - James Halford didn't want to talk about it.
But he was going to.
Halford, a 26-year-old veteran of two tours of active duty in Australia and various parts of the Pacific as a U.S. Marine, sat at a table in the Henke Hall of Champions surrounded by media members interested in his story. The walk-on downplays his accomplishments as he shares them.
He didn't serve for the attention.
"Nothing spectacular," Halford says. "Nothing to brag about. We usually don't go into it too much."
Halford, a student again pursuing a degree in secondary education in hopes of one day becoming a school teacher, now suddenly plays football in the Big Ten East where the defending national champions call home. He studies football tendencies now, not military strategies. He prefers talking about the game.
Bloomington is a world away from the active military, a job Halford would rather not go into detail about. He was in the infantry where he trained almost constantly all day and all night for months at a time keeping his assault skills sharp. He specialized as a tow gunner and cross-trained on machine guns.
Halford can't immediately recall how long he served overseas. His best guess is that it was either 13 or 14 months. When people ask him about his job, he normally lies and says he's a construction worker to avoid going into the details of the armed forces.
"Just because I was in the Marines, I don't deserve any special treatment," Halford said. "I feel like it's service for a reason. You serve for the country, not to get attention. I almost hate kind of getting a little extra attention just because I served."
Organized football is still new to Halford. He only played one year as a freshman at Carmel Catholic in Mundelein, Ill., before quitting to focus on track and field where he was a standout runner. He picked up a handful of Division II offers before a lower back injury prompted him to give up competitive running and join the Marines to serve his country like his Grandfather, a World War II veteran, had done before him.
"That was my inspiration," Halford said. "He'd definitely be proud."
Having completed his four active years of service, Halford is now considered part of the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR). He doesn't train and isn't necessarily expected to return overseas, but if something were to break out, he could be reactivated at any time and return to active duty.
While serving, Halford would have conversations with the men he worked alongside about his dreams of playing college football when he returned. He knew it was a long shot of sorts, maybe even a pipe dream, but he was a standout in the weight room and during Marine football tournaments.
Friends and family, including former All-American track standout sister Hilary, supported Halford's dreams of playing. By chance, Halford's sister told him to potentially look into Indiana.
She had competed for St. Francis as a runner in Bloomington and liked the campus.
Not knowing much about Indiana, Halford contacted assistant athletic director for alumni relations Mark Deal about two years ago and discussed walk-on tryouts. The more the two talked, the more realistic playing football at Indiana seemed to be.
"They told me based on my numbers, I might have a shot," Halford said. "I told them I'll apply to IU and come here."
Halford left active duty with the Marines on Aug. 1 and was in Bloomington later that month with about 15 other hopefuls for four days of walk-on tryouts. Halford, who's listed at 6-foot-1, 215 pounds, didn't really have a position he was trying out for in particular. He just wanted to make the team.
Throughout the tryout, Halford said he was inspired by his mother Lisa. She had contracted a rare spine disease that he said had her on her deathbed while he was on active duty.
Thanks to what Halford described as a miraculous recovery, Lisa recovered well enough to have recently gone on a run with her son and is now cheering her son on from afar.
"She was my motivation," Halford said.
The coaches saw enough in Halford during those four days to offer him a position on the scout team. He's technically classified as a linebacker and spends the majority of his time working with linebackers coach William Inge, but Halford said he also spends time at fullback and just about anywhere else he can line up.
At this point, he doesn't even know his true position.
"To be honest, I'm so raw I couldn't tell you," Halford said. "I'm open to anything, but I've been working with Coach Inge a lot. It seems to be going well so far, so we'll see. In the offseason, maybe it will change. If we keep progressing, maybe we'll see. I'm just worried about helping the scout team now."
Halford doesn't expect to be on the field any time soon. After all, he's only been a football player for three months now. He said he's just thankful for the opportunity head coach Kevin Wilson has given him to help on the scout team.
At practice, Halford said he fits right in with his teammates who are mostly younger than him. Many of the players he shares a locker room with don't know all he's gone through with the Marines, which is how he likes to keep it.
He doesn't need the attention. He'd rather earn it with his game.
That's the Marine way.
"I feel like I'm just one of the boys," Halford said. "This says a lot about the program. They have a guy who played one year of high school ball a tryout. It allowed me to fulfill a dream."
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