Jasper Steinmetz, a Recent Indiana Graduate, Spotted a Man Carrying an Indiana University Athletic Backpack Earlier This Year

A chance encounter on a walking path in Austin, Texas, has transformed the lives of two men who bonded over their shared connection to Indiana University. Jasper Steinmetz, a recent Indiana graduate, spotted a man carrying an Indiana University athletic backpack earlier this year and decided to strike up a conversation. "I saw the Indiana University athletic backpack, and since I had just graduated from Indiana, we had that commonality.

And I figured, you know, why not talk to him?" Steinmetz told CBS News. The man, Sampson James, was originally from Indiana and had been homeless for eight months. Steinmetz later discovered that James had been a four-star football recruit out of Avon High School in Avon, Indiana.

In 2019, James joined Indiana University's football team as a freshman running back, then transferred to Purdue in 2021 before briefly returning to Indiana University as a walk-on in 2023. "He was an amazing athlete, really a standout star, Steinmetz said. James's football career collapsed after he suffered a serious knee injury and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. He dropped out of Indiana University in 2023 without graduating and eventually lost everything except his red school backpack, one of his only possessions.

"He told me he went to IU as well. So I was like, wow, that's amazing, go Hoosiers, James said of meeting Steinmetz. "He was able to grasp and understand me and come to a point of understanding.

Because of that Hoosier connection, Steinmetz decided to act. In June, he started an online fundraiser for James that raised $17,000. That was just the beginning. Next came a home.

"We just prepaid a bunch of rent and got him everything that he needed for the apartment, Steinmetz said of the new digs with everything James needed to start anew. Now, when James and Steinmetz walk along that same trail where they first met, the future looks much brighter. "Now that all these people donated and you got the apartment, they really want to see you succeed, Steinmetz told James this week. "Oh yeah, and I'm big on not letting them down, James responded.