James Proche


James Proche is an American football wide receiver for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League. He played college football for the SMU Mustangs.

Early life and high school

Proche grew up in Dallas, Texas and originally attended Prime Prep Academy before transferring to DeSoto High School for his senior year due to academic concerns with Prime Prep. He caught 18 passes for 335 yards and a touchdown in his only season with the Eagles, playing in only seven games due to suffering kidney failure during summer training camp. Rated a three-star recruit, Proche committed to play college football at SMU over offers from Maryland, TCU and Wake Forest going into his senior season.

College career

Proche redshirted his true freshman season. The following season, Proche finished second on the team with 57 receptions, 709 yards and six touchdown catches. As a redshirt sophomore Proche caught 40 passes for 816 yards and six touchdowns and his average of 20.4 yards per catch was 13th-best in the nation. He was named first team All-American Athletic Conference in his redshirt junior year after leading the team with 93 receptions for 1,199 yards and 12 touchdowns. In his final season, Proche caught 112 passes for 1,225 yard and 15 touchdowns and was again named first team All-AAC and a second team All-American by the Football Writers Association of America.

Professional career

At the 2020 NFL Combine, Proche ranked 4th overall in the bench press with 20 repetitions and 14th in the 20-yard shuttle with a time of 4.40 seconds. Proche was selected in the sixth round of the 2020 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens.