Demopolis’ Tom Causey will not be alone when he travels to Mobile to coach in the 24th annual Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic Dec. 11. He will be joined by Demopolis running back DaMarcus James, whose presence on the team was made official by a Wednesday press release.

“It’s a big accomplishment to get,” James, who was the runner-up for the ASWA Mr. Football Award a season ago. “There are a lot of players in Alabama and I am one of the 40 to be chosen.”

“I think it is a heck of an honor for our team,” Causey said of James’ selection. “The running back position is defintiely a glamour position. But that doesn’t happen if you don’t have players around you. It’s big for (James). It’s big for our team. It’s big for our program. It’s big for our city.”

James was also quick to recognize the contributions of his teammates that allowed him to accrue the stats and notoriety necessary to procure the roster spot.

“We came together. We worked together. They did their jobs,” James said of his teammates. “In order for me to accomplish all this, they had to do their job.”

James’ selection comes after a senior season in which he amassed more than 2,500 yards on the ground while leading the Tigers to the Class 5A state championship.

While James will be joining his head coach in Mobile, Causey had no say in the selection process for the game.

“I had no place in picking it,” Causey said. “Coaches in the game don’t get to pick the players.”

James becomes the first Demopolis player to be picked for the game since Devin Goodwin and Ray Williams represented the Tigers in 2005, when the game was still played during the summer. The selection also makes James the first of Causey’s players to make the contest.

“This is the first player I’ve had in it,” Causey said of a list that has included current Cincinnati Bengals defense end Michael Johnson (Dallas County) and current University of Alabama linebacker Nico Johnson (Andalusia). “I’ve been fortunate enough to have some pretty good players.”

James currently sits at 1,145 yards rushing through seven games this season.