Jersey numbers had yet to be assigned to Irondale football players last week when junior running back Victor James was asked his preference.

Either No. 28 or No. 34, those of his football heroes, he said. Vikings standout Adrian Peterson provided inspiration for the former. Wearing No. 34, James said, would be for Bo Jackson, who last carried a football about six years before James, 16, was born. YouTube highlight videos helped James discover Jackson, and marvel at the runner he called “a complete monster.”

Bo knew success in both football and baseball, and multifaceted talents are James’ strength as well. Considered one of the North Suburban Conference’s budding stars at running back, James, 5-11 and 225 pounds, was all-state in track and field last spring while excelling with an advanced placement-heavy class load and playing the cello in the school orchestra. He is ready to raise the bar this year.

“We want state,” James said of his Knights football teammates. “Our defense is really good. They are probably going to be one of the best in our conference. And our offensive line is amazing. They are all big and strong. Everyone has put a lot of work in and our team is really athletic.”

James continued with a statement that would have made his late mother, Victoria, proud.

“We’re going to go as far as we continue to put in the work to go,” he said.

Victoria James, a devout Christian known for her sense of humor, died of cancer last June. Born in Nigeria, she married Edeth James and the couple moved to the United States to further their education and pursue better employment opportunities. James and younger sister Edith, 13, hope to embody their mother’s ideals.

“She taught us to always try our hardest in sports but to always remember that it’s God, school and then sports,” James said. “But she did care about my sports and wanted me to do well.”

James laughed as he recalled his formative football years.

“Seventh grade was really rough for my mom to watch,” he said. “If I was carrying the ball, she was turned away. And then she’d see me 5 or 10 yards down the field and clap and yell, ‘Oh, good job, Victor.’ ”

Her death last summer was one of several challenges James experienced. On the first offensive play of the St. Louis Park game, James was struck and bloodied by teammate Wil Kah, who was going in motion before the ball was snapped and inadvertently ran his helmet into James’ chin.

On the next play, James sprained his ankle and did not return to action for three weeks. Showing great potential upon his return, James rushed 11 times for 119 yards in a 20-14 victory at Benilde-St. Margaret’s.

Two weeks later, Irondale made its game with North Branch a cancer awareness night. The emotional toll overwhelmed James. Though her cancer was terminal, Victoria James died sooner than expected while visiting family alone in Nigeria.

“When she left it was more of a ‘see you later’ than ‘goodbye,’ ” James said. “That’s why I really broke down at the game that night — that she couldn’t see me play and I never really got to say goodbye.”

He remembers her selflessness and uses it as a guide.

“My mom was always about other people,” James said. “If there was a piece of bread and 50 people, my mom would make sure all 50 people got some before she even looked at it.”

Humble and hard-working, James isn’t slowing down on or off the field this year. He is enrolled in advanced placement calculus, chemistry, literature and world studies as well as French and orchestra, where he is the third chair cellist.

“It was a random impulse in the fourth grade, and I stuck with it ever since,” James said of his interest in cello.

Knights coach Ben Geisler called James “a really special kid” who can expect “to get the bulk of the carries this season.”

James is eager to take on the challenge. Like his mother taught him, James knows he must play for himself and others, using those collective strengths to achieve great things.

“With our offensive line, I can do it,” James said. “They blow the holes wide open. I’m going to do my best to run hard, run fast and try to run through the holes they make.”