COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – LeBron James could have taken his talents to the Horseshoe. According to former Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel, James was invited by Tressel to play wide receiver for the Buckeyes. During the most recent episode of a podcast hosted by Tressel, the coach said that during a recruiting trip to St. Vincent-St. Mary Catholic High School in Akron, he had a conversation with King James, who was the No. 1 football prospect in the state at the time, according to MaxPreps. James complied 99 receptions, 1,912 yards and 27 touchdowns during his high school career, which included six 100-yard games. His junior season, he amassed 60 receptions, 1,200 yards and 16 TDs. “He was a beast,” Tressel said to his podcast guest and former Cleveland Cavaliers forward Austin Carr. “All you had to do was throw it up there. And he could fly, he had everything.” Pick-six helps Broncos beat Browns, spoil career nights by Winston, Jeudy Tressel said he tried to sell James on playing for the Buckeyes his freshman season instead of turning pro and joining the NBA right away. “I think you should play one year of football and one year of basketball – coach [Jim] O’Brien was our coach back then – and then go ahead on to the NBA. … And I’ll never forget. He’s got that smile and said, ‘I don’t think so, Coach.’” Instead, James was the first overall pick of 2003 NBA draft, joining the Cleveland Cavaliers and leading them to to the 2016 title during his second stint with the team. He's been on NBA title-winning teams four times and is now in his 22nd season as part of the Los Angeles Lakers. Nevertheless, Carr and Tressel noted that James always had a soft spot for the Buckeyes. “He loved Ohio State,” said Carr, who remembered making a pitstop in Columbus one year. “[The team] changed all of our [travel] arrangements so we could come back on the way to somewhere else, so we could see Ohio State and Michigan.” “That man was so special for our kids,” Tressel agreed. “They said, ‘We must be important if LeBron is here, and we better not lose’. We never lost to Michigan when he was on the sidelines. He was undefeated.”