Brick's James ready to win back starting spot at TCNJ BY WAYNE WITKOWSKI Staff Writer Chris James has worked hard on the fundamentals of football as he looks to keep his starting position as The College of New Jersey's quarterback. "Training is going well. I work out with Joe D'Amato [James' center when they played at Brick Memorial], who is at Rowan; Mike LePore, who is at Stony Brook; and Dan LaBrutto, who is at Fairleigh Dickinson [Florham]," said James. "I'm real happy with workouts. I'm working harder and getting bigger and stronger with a lot of lifting." But James also is focusing on an intangible - leadership. "I'm looking at being more of a leader and knowing the playbook a little more and where everyone is," said James. "He's a great kid and he's a leader," said coach Eric Hamilton, starting his 30th season. "He needs to be more confident with a year under his belt to do the things he needs to do." James is entering a tough showdown for the job that he held for most of last season against the player from whom he took the job - Jeff Struble. James came into his own in the second half of the season for the Lions, who finished 4-6, with some impressive numbers. James threw for 525 yards and four touchdowns on 37-for-99 passing and was intercepted eight times. He was the second leading ground-gainer on the team behind Corey Schoonover with 187 yards on 92 carries and five touchdowns. "He plays with no regard for his body. He does what it takes to win," said Hamilton. "This season, we need to keep him around for 10 games." And Hamilton felt James' passing can improve. "His arm is pretty strong. Sometimes he thinks it's stronger than it is and forces the ball," said Hamilton. "With maturity, hopefully he'll realize when he can and can't do that." James started the second game, was injured for two games and came back for the last six games. With an offensive line decimated by injuries, James was able to make a lot out of a little opportunity with his scrambling ability. He said the experience of playing last season "helps a lot" for this year when practices begin on Friday. The season opens Aug. 31 with a home game against Muhlenberg. Then comes a game against Fairleigh Dickinson in which former Brick Township standout Bill Winters is one of the top candidates at quarterback. "Chris will compete for the starting quarterback job. Experience absolutely has to help," said Hamilton when asked. "He was thrown into the fire last season. Now he knows what he has to do. "Jeff Struble did not have the year like we thought and I hope he can compete for the job," said Hamilton. "If not, we'll have him on the field somewhere." James said another Brick resident who could be the top ball carrier this season - Dan Dornacker - "has encouraged me a lot," especially with the top ground-gainer [Schoonover] and the top receiver, Ryan Ross, graduated. And Hamilton will rely even more on the offense because the defense "that has held us together has some concerns, being hard hit with injuries in the offseason. I'm not sure what we have." One consolation is the bright young prospects on offense and the bouncing back of a line crippled by injuries last season to carry the load in the early part of the season as the Lions look to recover from an uncharacteristic second straight losing season. James joins TCNJ at an interesting time, as Buffalo State and Cortland State are now part of the league and Brockport State and State University of New York-Morrisville join for the 2008 season.