I am playing with grown men that have babies. I wish him the best! 1s that week against Miami, Holieway said. Jamelle Holieway (born June 25, 1967) is an American former college and professional football player who was a quarterback for the University of Oklahoma.He led the Oklahoma Sooners to a national championship in 1985.. Jamelle Holieway is considered one of the greatest option quarterbacks in NCAA Division I-A history. ''My expectation was that I wanted to make the traveling team,'' he said. As the kid from Los Angeles sat staring out of the window, dreaming about his future and the places that he would go one day, Switzer walked to the back of the plane and they started talking football. He's come to this Okfuskee County hamlet to teach a little football and spread a little inspiration and maybe teach these boys of all ages a thing or two about life. Classy. 1 and won its first eight games, which set up a Bedlam matchup against No. Oklahoma dominated the Big 8 schedule with an average margin of victory of 45-2 with four shutouts before heading to Lincoln for the regular-season finale at No. It really does when you're playing sports.''. His left knee got caught on the Superturf on Owen Field. Since then he has learned that he has heart disease and only about 15% of his heart is functioning. ''Now, because of the parity, because of the equality across the board - back then, you might have had six powerhouses. Dont know if hes going to shake all his demons. Five plays later, following an Oklahoma time out, Holieway threw to the goal line to tight end Keith Jackson for a 17-yard touchdown. That would arrive November 23 against third-ranked Nebraska. Young Jamelle was always active and in the street either riding bikes or playing games like Kick-the-Can. Contribute to The Shadow League today and help us share our narratives. He also practiced those moves within the tight confines of his small home. Within 11 months of our dinner, he had quarterbacked OU to the national title and himself into Sooner lore. If anyone seemed made for the Los Angeles lifestyle, it was Jamelle Holieway, with a diamond stud in his ear and a fur coat on his shoulders. Jamelle Holieway Net Worth. SPORTS ILLUSTRATED is a registered trademark of ABG-SI LLC. I would look at her, she would smile, and then she would have to leave to go right back to work. Everybody went to California looking for work and didnt find any. ''The part that entered my mind was, `It's your time.' Now, he sees Hurts using his brains and athleticism at the highest level of college football, and he's proud. Ou Sooners Spring Football Game. A dominant Orange Bowl win over Arkansas set the stage for the 1987 season, in which Oklahoma began the season ranked No. OU legend Jamelle Holieway understands Caleb Williams' early success, Spencer Rattler's fall from QB1. I didnt know any different, Holieway said. And that is what I did. He kept throwing different scenarios at me, but I had been running the option my whole life. I personally think if he could have gone pro, he would have been one of the best. They were preparing to play against Crenshaw High School in the city championship game, and they wanted me to simulate Crenshaws quarterback, who was really good at running the option. Coach Switzer, he never has changed, Holieway said. But, Holt said, "I think he's finding his way into the community.". He was quizzing me on different situations and scenarios, said Holieway. Coach Switzer always told us, If it is not for the fans, then who the hell are we? Holieway graduated with a 31-3 record as a starter, was a two-time all-Big 8 quarterback and totaled over 5,000 total yards (2,713 rushing, 2,430 passing). I was like, Huh? An Aikman-led victory over Texas (14-7) set the stage for the well-documented October 19 visit from unranked Miami. His electrifying 43-yard touchdown run in the first quarter gave the Sooners a 14-0 lead, which eventually ballooned to 27-0 after Holieways second scoring scamper from 17 yards out in the third frame. Holieway obviously was living in the fast lane, even back then. He was arrested yesterday in McAlister, OK, for shoplifting at Walmart. I am playing with grown men that have wives and have to feed their families however (they can), trying to get to the league. About a month ago he found out that he had a heart attack at some time. Learn how your comment data is processed. When Holieway took the field, he dazzled with his quickness and wiggle. Switzers background was unique, and his rapport with African-American playersunequaled. Jamelle was an amazimg college player. The injury plagued Holieway for the remainder of the 1988 season, and he eventually lost his starting job to Charles Thompson. With his astonishing capacity for magically slicing through defenses, he marched them down the field for the tying score and proceeded to score the winning extra-point on a quarterback bootleg. With Mitchel now at tailback, Holieway returned under center one final time as a Sooner in a 13-6 Citrus Bowl loss to No. One night in LA, I went to dinner with Holieway, OU recruiter Scott Hill and booster Jay Thomas, back when recruiting dinners were allowed and media illumination was encouraged. Leroy was an amazing fullback and wed practice the ride-and-decide every day for hours. I use his highlight film to inspire a young man that plays on an adult semi pro team that i coach in the bay area. You cant jump offsides when it is 4th and 1. He is the only one who has silver shoes like nobody else. That threw me back, and then I saw Thomas Lott with the bandana. We know we played OU football., NORMAN, OK APRIL 23: Head coach Brent Venables of the Oklahoma Sooners kneels with former players before the teams spring game at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on April 23, 2022, in Norman, Oklahoma. The first time he ever had a phone in his residence was in college. He is having some very serious heart issues right now. He walked off towards his car and forgot his bag. He is atleast Vicks equal if not better. And Holieway says his three proudest moments are 1) winning the national championship; 2) graduating in four years and getting his political science diploma; and 3) sitting with Lee Roy Selmon during the 2000 national championship Orange Bowl, watching OU beat Florida State. A name both good and bad. When he got to Banning High School, he decided to keep playing on his recreation league team in Inglewood as opposed to playing on the schools junior varsity squad. He attends most of the Oklahoma home games where occasionally you will catch him signing autographs for sooner fans and talking trash to the opposing teams fans. Holieway then turned his focus to Oklahoma, which not only had a long, successful track record of winning big with the triple-option offensive attack but a charismatic coach in Barry Switzer who was not threatened by players who wished to display some personality. If you have heard of Holieway, you have heard the story. He was about to pull off in his Mercedes when I knocked on his window and told him that hed left his bag. It's a shame he didn't get a fair shot in the pros. Im pulling for him. She also went to school while she worked at the hospital, the probation office and other odd jobs while trying to support me and my older brother, who died when he was four years old from water on the brain, said Holieway. That was one of the highlights of my young life, he continued. The 5-foot-11 field general stepped in after Troy Aikman went down with a broken leg during a loss to Miami early in the season, and the Sooners didn't miss a beat after that game. In order for that bowl matchup to have national championship implications, the Sooners would have to defeat both Oklahoma State on the road and SMU in the home finale. My 12th grade year, I was featured in Street and Smiths Magazine as one of the best high school players in the country. Mandatory Credit: Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports, Well then, going in to the watch the film, my coach (Switzer) reassured me of one thing: You cant play that sandlot football against Texas, Nebraska, against Miami. Though he takes a pounding, Holieway has missed only one game the last two years with an injury. The Orange Bowl featured No. But Holieway was not as green as has often been portrayed. And maybe, hopefully, hes figuring it out. People say he cant play QBhe is from los Angeles like Jamelle and about the same size..well im gona but him in the option bone and I formation and see what people think then. 2 Nebraska 27-7 in Norman, then beat Oklahoma State and SMU to position themselves for a shot at the title on New Year's Day. 2 talking about this. He has right leg sticking out, I have got my left leg sticking out of the car and we are just riding around practice the whole time.. He made me want to go put my damn helmet on one more time and play, Holieway said. "This is his home," Holt said. Thats why we became so potent together when we were running the option. He led the Oklahoma Sooners to a national championship in 1985. Barry Layne Switzer (born October 5, 1937) is a former American football coach and player. pic.twitter.com/D0nLQw9go8, Sooner Sports Network (@SoonerSportsTV) July 14, 2020. Throughout the remainder of this college football season, The Shadow Leagues series, The Black College Quarterback, will examine some of the most talented and impactful signal callers of the 80s and 90s. Keith Jacksons TD in the 85 natty was a thing of beauty. The Sooners started at their own 34-yard line with 50 seconds left, but only got to their 45 with just 18 remaining ticks on the clock. Switzer was the son of a bootlegger who grew up in rural Crossett, Arkansas. Even injured. With four daysleft until the start of another Oklahoma football season, we continue our countdown to Saturdays season-opening game. A Lashar field goal cut the Oklahoma deficit to 17-10 with 10:39 to play, but the Sooners fumbled the ball away twice on their next two chances to drive for the tying score. We have got to make it hit. The Canes arrived with the countrys top-ranked offense in tow, led by quarterback Vinny Testaverde, running backs Alonzo Highsmith and Melvin Bratton, and a gangster wide receiving corps headlined by Michael Irvin and Brian Blades. Holieway began running the option offense as a quarterback at the age of nine. That tide would soon shift, as Miami was on its way to becoming one of the most iconic, menacing and controversial programs in college football history. They were hard times. With Jamelle at the controls, Banning rolled through the regular season and into the Los Angeles Coliseum for the city championship in 1983. He goes on and on about Barry Switzer. I got to step in and run my stuff. Holieway tore the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee in a game versus the Oklahoma State Cowboys on November 7, 1987. Holieway finished his Sooner career with 2,713 yards rushing on 539 attempts (an average of 5.0 yards per carry) and 32 touchdowns. Trailing41-35 with two minutes to go, in front of 35,000 spectators, Banning took control of the ball at their own 5-yard-line. 1999) brought Oklahoma to the Nebraska 32. I scooped it up and ran after him. (Jamelle, with his eyes on the defense, executingthe Ride-and-Decide, Photo Credit: newsok.com). Before we got off the plane, he told me, Son, if you can emulate everything you just told me on the field, youll be my starting quarterback by mid season of your freshman year. Oklahoma won seven straight to close out the regular season, then beat Penn State in the Orange Bowl, making Holieway the only true freshman quarterback to lead a Bowl Subdivision team to a national title. Because this was my first go around, so this is normal for me. ', Holieway also ranks first in program history in number of fur coats worn on the sideline with one, set during the victorious 1987 Oklahoma-Nebraska Game of the Century II clash in Lincoln, Neb.#Sooners https://t.co/AZe52GJby1 pic.twitter.com/DMgokqg4G4, Douglas Miles (@douglasmilesCRG) August 30, 2022. And here I am, just a little 18-year-old snotty-nosed freshman. Thats probably where all my moves first came from. You are not going to change. I didnt believe it. What a tandem we had with Jamelle and Eric Mitchell back then. I could run that offense in my sleep. 22, scoot over and start coming down and I just said, Red, red, Y Go, Y Go and that means, (Oklahoma tight end) Keith (Jackson), go run as fast as you can down the middle of the field and I am going to throw it as far as I can and hopefully we connect. That is how that play came about., 88 days until Sooner football. Last evening Jamelle came and spoke to a group of our young graduating seniors in Konawa, OK. She hated to chase me around the house, because Id be giving her stutter-steps and jump backs. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. I dont know what this man knew that I didnt know, but he knew something.. I am hollering all my friends names and all like that, it was the ultimate.. Lashar field goal later in the quarter. When we were growing up, playing in the street, we all wanted to be likethose great USC tailbacks, said Holieway. I pushed myself. He was the first quarterback I'm aware of in the Michael Vick style, where his pure athleticism and the threat that the quarterback would suddenly turn into a running back completely changed the game for the defense. But with 9:18 remaining in the half, everything changed in an instant. I guess that is why I dont like Clemson to this day, because they beat us the last game.. He soon got his wish when Bannings starter went down with a rib injury. The Shadow League is a narrative company. I played on some great youth teams and we won a lot, said Holieway. The Trojans defeated the Sooners 23-7. I should have redshirted that year, but because I wanted to come home and play and be all like that and thought I wanted to hurry up and get my ass out of college. But a homevisit from Oklahomas coach, Barry Switzer, knocked all of the other competitors out of hisrecruiting mix. Oklahoma coach Brent Venables talks with former quarterback Jamelle Holieway during the University of Oklahoma's annual spring football game at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., Saturday, April 23, 2022. On that afternoon of October 19 th in 1985, when Jamelle Holieway stepped into the crucible of the Miami game, replacing an injured Troy Aikman in the second quarter, his teammates didn't sense . Through the air, he threw 257 times, completing 117 passes for 2,430 yards with 22 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. 'Ms. But now, it's a coin toss.''. Just there for you no matter what.. That was the one and only time that Coach Switzer ever lied to me, said Holieway. Aikmans main target in the passing game was Keith Jackson, the best tight end in the country. I knew what every guy at every position was supposed to be doing on every play. We had the best defense in the country. The game resonated locally because of the mushrooming animosity between Miamis head coach, Jimmy Johnson, and Oklahomas head man, Barry Switzer. January 1, 1986; Miami, FL, USA; FILE PHOTO; Oklahoma Sooners running back Jamelle Holieway (4) celebrates defeating the Penn State Nittany Lions in the Orange Bowl 25-10 at the Orange Bowl. When her family left the oppressive, racially-charged powder kegs of Longview, Texas and Shreveport, Louisiana a generation before, lured by the sunshine and utopian dream that California offered, South Central was a welcoming community of many African-American homeowners who earned moderately high wages as skilled union workers. Simpson. I was just running to the open spot. The overall unit was one of the most punishing and ferocious in all of college football. He is the former OU quarterback, the wishbone legend, and in 1985, he became the first true freshman since at least the leather-helmet days to quarterback a team to a national title. Class of 1983. Aikman infamously suffered a broken leg in a home loss to Miami, and true freshman Jamelle Holieway came in and steered the Sooners to the 1985 national championship. At Oklahoma, he took over for an injured Troy Aikman in his freshman year in the Miami game when Jerome Brown and Dan Sileo broke Aikman's leg. Jamelle Holieway has the and the s vote, Tune in at 6:30 CT on @FOXSportsOK for the full debate! I wont be by a heater. And coming from the gang-infested streets of Los Angeles, he was never intimidated or nervous playing football, regardless if a mountain of a defender like Jerome Brown was trying to separate his head from his limbs. . Holieways adopted state once cheered him. The transgressions of the Sooner program at large under Barry Switzer were exposed in a February 1989 article in Sports Illustrated, but it doesn't mention Holieway specifically, who had played his last game by this point (the Citrus Bowl on January 2nd, 1989) -- it focuses much more on his successor, Charles Thompson, who had just been arrested and was eventually convicted for selling cocaine. Holieway had worked some with the first team the week of the Miami game that Aikman was injured in, so he was prepared. The recipient of the Sparks phone call was 1980s national championship quarterback Jamelle Holieway. 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