This is his home, Holt said. So you stay away from there and you stay away from strangers. 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. Since then he has learned that he has heart disease and only about 15% of his heart is functioning. ''I think of how hard it is for any quarterback to do it (win a national title),'' Holieway said. To me, that is some good stuff for your mama to believe in you when you are 15 years old, and it is only me and her.. I didnt know any different, Holieway said. The 1985 Oklahoma Sooners entered the football season overflowing with much more than hope and optimism. We publish narratives intentionally and specifically to enlighten and transform the world. That Miami team was incredible and both of our teams were balling! 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. ', Top 50 OU Football Players of the Modern Era, 30 Best OU Football Games in School History. ''My expectation was that I wanted to make the traveling team,'' he said. 1s that week against Miami, Holieway said. Jamelle Holieway played professionally for the National Football League's Los Angeles Raiders (1989-1990) and the Canadian Football League's British Columbia Lions (1991-1992). His teams were perpetually competing for championships as he continuously ran circles and scampered around players who were markedly bigger and stronger. I dont care who is the coach, we know we put on that crimson and cream. It was a very nice experience playing football with Jamelle and James! Best wishes to Jamelle! So it was, OK, whatever we have got to do, we have got to do. Aikman and the OU passing attack was hotter than fish grease early on, with the sophomore stud having completed six of his eight passes for 131 yards in a little more than a quarter of play. 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. When we would scrimmage, Eric would make some big ol play and these runs and the crowd would go wild and be cheering, Holieway remembered. LOS ANGELES SEPTEMBER 24: Fullback Leroy Holt #39 of the USC Trojans runs out of bounds against the Oklahoma Sooners at the Coliseum on September 24, 1988 in Los Angeles, California. So as the diminutive, speedyoption-savant stepped into the huddle with a beaming smile in the second quarter of the game against the Hurricanes, with his Los Angeles swag and confidence emboldened in front of 75,000 screaming people, many of whom were deflated Sooner fans who thought their National Championship dreams were fractured right along with Aikmans ankle, the first thing Holieway calmly uttered, before calling the first play of his Oklahoma career was, Alright then. How about an update on Dexter or Hart Lee? As Aikman dropped back to pass, Miamis defensive lineman Jerome Brown tore through the Oklahoma line and violently sacked him, breaking the giftedquarterbacks ankle in the process. Holieway's lifelong friend, former Southern Cal fullback Leroy Holt, said he's glad Holieway never returned to California. 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. So my name got brought up enough to keep my name in the loop and for me to be relevant in these times of college football. American gridiron football player (born 1967), 1985 Oklahoma Sooners footballconsensus national champions, "Oklahoma's Jamelle Holieway is the only true freshman quarterback to lead his team to a national title, Georgia's Jake Fromm could be the second", "TOTALFOOTBALLSTATS.COM - Oklahoma Sooners", Jamelle Holieway Career Stats, Oklahoma Sooners, Holieway's 71 yard touchdown pass to Keith Jackson in the 1986 Orange Bowl National Championship Game, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jamelle_Holieway&oldid=1140653779, Players of American football from California, Sportspeople from Los Angeles County, California, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, NFL player missing current team parameter, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Big Eight First Team All-Conference QB (1985), Big Eight Offensive Player of the Year (1986), Big Eight First Team All-Conference QB (1986), This page was last edited on 21 February 2023, at 02:57. He grazed it, but enough to see my head turn the other way. I just turned 45, he said. He won three national championships at Oklahoma, and led the Cowboys to win Super Bowl XXX against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Or Id go and help people wash their cars so I could gather up enough money to get her some flowers, some type of trinket, or a candy dish that you could sit on the table. He has, probably after the shoplifting incident, turned his life over to God, and is working hard to put his past behind him. It helped me realize that there was a much bigger world than South Central L.A. On the field, his escapability was surreal. He made me want to go put my damn helmet on one more time and play, Holieway said. I had some great coaches and mentors that took me under their wing, said Holieway. ''That part never entered my mind,'' Holieway said. Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. I immediately upon reading your version of the above, visualized an internal organ flopping around on a highway. You would think being relegated to spectator as his team competed for a national championship for Holieway. (Jamelle, with his eyes on the defense, executingthe Ride-and-Decide, Photo Credit: newsok.com). And three, black. Barry Layne Switzer (born October 5, 1937) is a former American football coach and player. After his rec league season was over, Ferragamo approached Holieway and said, Everybodys been telling me that youre a really good player and that I need to get you out on the field with us. But Holieway was not as green as has often been portrayed. Ive known Holieway since February 1985, when he was a senior at Banning High School in the Los Angeles suburb of Wilmington. I knew what every guy at every position was supposed to be doing on every play. Wish Jamelle the best - what's the latest on E Mitchell? Magic stopped to sign some autographs and he put his bag down, said Holieway. That humbles me and makes me appreciate what I did back then, and they still remember that. 4 Days Until @OU_Football . What a tandem we had with Jamelle and Eric Mitchell back then. His favorite players included Marcus Allen, Ricky Bell, Anthony Davis, Charles Whiteand The Juice, O.J. Lashar calmly drilled the game-winning field goal from 31 yards away. So you can basically weed them out and figure out who's going to win the national championship. Holieway was the first true freshman quarterback to lead his team to the national title.[1]. 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. Even injured. With Mitchel now at tailback, Holieway returned under center one final time as a Sooner in a 13-6 Citrus Bowl loss to No. But on that glorious 1985 fall Saturday in Norman, Oklahoma, Miami walked in with an arrogance and swagger that would help them to later bully all of college ball like Debo did Red in the movie Friday. If I could play Miami every game, me personally, I would have played them every game. He soon got his wish when Bannings starter went down with a rib injury. Holieway still credits Oklahoma coach Barry Switzer for showing confidence in him. If you are looking for former OU football greats, go to our website www.formersoonergreats.com for our new publication. Keith Jacksons TD in the 85 natty was a thing of beauty. When Coach Switzer came to my house, the living room furniture was for show and only my moms friends could sit there when they came over, said Holieway. But the ironic thing about that is, here they did change, and my cousin (1990 national champion) Darian Hagan goes there a year later. He was arrested yesterday in McAlister, OK, for shoplifting at Walmart. It is not all about the cheering. Last evening Jamelle came and spoke to a group of our young graduating seniors in Konawa, OK. we played one European Cup Match against the Hamburg Blue Devils, and our coach was James Brooks (former Bengals running back). And holy crap, he had wheels. "My mom was my heart," Holieway said. I was back to Banning a year ago, Holieway said. It is not the same, just like everything in the world is. I got in and I just matriculated down the field and I only got applause when we got the touchdown. In what became his coming-out party to the country, Holieway was brilliant. 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. Surrounded by defenders, hed amazingly dance and juke and head fake his way out of certain peril, all the while telling the helpless defenders who lunged at him, Ha, ha, ya missed me! All Rights Reserved. I was pretty nifty, so I used that to my advantage when my mother was chasing after me and trying to whup me if I did something bad, said Holieway. He spent all day with the team and never asked for anything in return! But he says no. 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. I loved it because when they talked about Michael Vick, Jamelle Holieways name got brought up, Holieway said. Holieway was named the backup quarterback during the preseason, which began on August 15 and consisted of an incredible month and a half of two-a-day practices four or five days a week.Once the season-opening home game against SMU was moved to December 7 to accommodate a national television broadcast by ABC, it meant the 1985 season would not begin until September 28 at Minnesota and, amazingly, the home-opener would not be until October 19, a week after the annual clash with Texas in Dallas. Holieway starred at Banning, helped a Pilots team with 13 future major-college players win a Los Angeles City football title as a junior, then was named the LA. It is humbling, Holieway said. But, Holt said, I think hes finding his way into the community., And the OU community remains dear to Holieway. ''I didn't want to stay in Norman when they had away games because it was a ghost town back then, and everybody went their separate ways.''. Dont know if hes going to shake all his demons. 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. Jamelle Holieway Net Worth. I figured, Hey, Im coming out for the varsity next year, so I might as well show them what I can do, said Holieway. The University of Oklahomas Jamelle Holieway Part II, Series Intro The Black College Quarterback, Your email address will not be published. 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. ''Now, because of the parity, because of the equality across the board - back then, you might have had six powerhouses. To give people awe like that is a great feeling. A dominant Orange Bowl win over Arkansas set the stage for the 1987 season, in which Oklahoma began the season ranked No. 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. He is from United States. On the following possession, Nebraska quarterback Steve Taylor ran out of bounds on two quarterback runs and threw an incompletion, which took hardly any time off the clock and forced his team to punt the ball back to Oklahoma. She got him a bus pass and taught him how to navigate Los Angeles public transportation system. Everybody went to California looking for work and didnt find any. Jamelle is still a larger than life image at Oklahoma, I have seen grown men loose their minds over meeting Jamelle. He recorded 32 rushing touchdowns and 22 passing scores with 15 interceptions. The rest is history. Yet, when it came to national retrospectives on 1980s college football, Holieway was customarily left out in favor of players like Doug Flutie, Bo Jackson, Herschel Walker, and Holieways teammate, Brian Bosworth. Now, he sees Hurts using his brains and athleticism at the highest level of college football, and he's proud. Holieway was not interested. My mom was always working, and my uncle lived with us before my mom married my stepfather, so there was always somebody for me to come home to, but I stayed out in the street because there wasnt anything for me to do at home. After slipping three times while walking, he asked Switzer, Coach, does it snow like this during the football season? Even with the prolific quarterbacks that arrived on campus with the hire of Bob Stoops as head coach in 1999, Holieway still ranks 17th in passing yards in program history. "Holieway obviously was a liver in the fast lane, even back then. A name both good and bad. jamelle holieway heart attack. Holieway led the Sooners to an 1110 record under Coach Barry Switzer and won the 1986 Orange Bowl against the Penn State Nittany Lions for the national championship. She couldnt stay, but for her to come all the way across town to see me play for five minutes, that meant the world to me. 1 expectations by completing the quest for a national championship. They were hard times. That is when reality set in, Holieway said. (Troy Aikman at OU,Photo Credit: newsok.com). I just did what came naturally to me, he continued. It was kind of like that old Coke commercial with Mean Joe Greene, when he threw the kid his jersey, but Magic didnt give me anything. There wasnt anything I didnt know about attacking a defense with the option. 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. Jamelle was the Big Eight Offensive Player of the Year, rushing for 811 yards and eight touchdowns and throwing for four TDs. I dont know if Holieway is going to stay clean. SPORTS ILLUSTRATED is a registered trademark of ABG-SI LLC. Required fields are marked *. Seemingly buried at fifth on the quarterback depth chart, injuries to sophomores Kyle Irvin and Glenn Sullivan immediately vaulted Holieway into a training camp battle with fellow freshman Eric Mitchel to determine who would back up sophomore Troy Aikman. Lashar field goal later in the quarter. Him just talking and getting people together was really amazing., September 6, 1986; Norman, OK, USA; FILE PHOTO; Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Jamelle Holieway (4) in action against the UCLA Bruins. But I had to grow up fast because they are all looking at me to lead., OU quarterback Jamelle Holliway looks for running room while Penn States Shane Conlan moves in for the tackle during the 1986 Orange Bowl.Holieway 3. We had the best defense in the country. With four daysleft until the start of another Oklahoma football season, we continue our countdown to Saturdays season-opening game. NORMAN, Okla. (AP) Jamelle Holieway dazzled the college football world as a true freshman who mastered Oklahoma's dynamic wishbone attack and led the Sooners to the 1985 national championship. Clad in his original Oklahoma road-white 1986 Orange Bowl jersey which was used just for a bowl week photo opportunity as the Sooners wore their crimson jerseys in the game that year Holieway gathered before the scrimmage at midfield with all of the other former players as Venables spoke passionately about their importance to the program. In California, I had to grow up fast, Holieway said. I knew we couldnt make a mistake. Seeing how hard his mother worked, he also engaged in Bottle Hustling, along with helping people clean their rides at the local car wash to earn a few dollars.