Jamize Robert Olawale (born April 17, 1989) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

fullback who is a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

. He was signed by the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2012. He played college football at

North Texas North Texas (also commonly called North Central Texas) is a term used primarily by residents of Dallas, Fort Worth, and surrounding areas to describe much of the north central portion of the U.S. state of Texas. Residents of the Dallas–Fort Wo ...

Early years

In August 1998, Jamize began playing Pop Warner football for the San Bruno Rams in Northern California where he and his older brother would begin their gridiron journey. Jamize playing RB while big brother (Millicent Olawale) was the star QB. Both being standout players, it was clear to his coaches and peers they would have a bright future in the sport. He being a respectful young man, exceptional student as well as an athlete, all attest to his Father’s strict but meaningful upbringing. SB Rams: 98-2000 SF Jr49ers: 2000-2001 Olawale attended three high schools:

Long Beach Poly High School Long Beach Polytechnic High School, founded in 1895 as Long Beach High School, is a four-year public high school located at 1600 Atlantic Avenue in Long Beach, California, United States. The school serves portions of Long Beach, including Bixby ...

, De La Salle High School, and St. Ignatius College Preparatory.

College career

Olawale played two seasons at

El Camino College El Camino College (Elco or ECC) is a two-year public community college located in the unincorporated area of Los Angeles County known as Alondra Park.tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Lik ...

, recording 15 receptions for 338 yards and three

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...

s. As a junior, he transferred to the

University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public research university in Denton, Texas. It was founded as a nonsectarian, coeducational, private teachers college in 1890 and was formally adopted by the state 11 years later."Denton Normal School, ...

, where he was switched to H-back, recording seven receptions for 79 yards. In his senior season, he was moved to wide receiver, appearing in eight games and recording two receptions for nine yards.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

After not being selected in the 2012 NFL Draft, Olawale received a tryout invitation for

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

mini-camp A mini-camp, also spelled minicamp, is a short camp held by National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL) teams usually in spring of each year. The camp usually only lasts 3 days, but the length varies by a day or two depending ...

where he was converted from wide receiver to full back, and performed well enough to be signed as an

on May 14. Although he enjoyed a successful preseason, he was

waived A waiver is the voluntary relinquishment or surrender of some known right or privilege. Regulatory agencies of state departments or the federal government may issue waivers to exempt companies from certain regulations. For example, a United St ...

on August 31, after the team decided to keep

Phillip Tanner Phillip Tanner (born August 8, 1988) is a former American football running back in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys, Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers. He played college football at Middle Tennessee State University. Ear ...

. Olawale was then signed to the team's practice squad.

Oakland Raiders

On December 4, 2012, the Oakland Raiders hampered by injuries to

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Ther ...

Darren McFadden Darren McFadden (born August 27, 1987) is a former American football running back. He played college football for the Arkansas Razorbacks and was selected by the Oakland Raiders in the first round with the fourth overall pick of the 2008 NFL Dra ...

and

Mike Goodson Michael Darryl Goodson Jr. (born May 23, 1987) is a former American football running back. He played college football at Texas A&M. Goodson was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the fourth round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He also played for the ...

, signed Olawale from the Dallas Cowboys practice squad. He appeared in three games during the

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and ...

as a fullback. Olawale would become a core

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

player. In

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

, he recorded eight special teams

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking u ...

(third on the team). In addition, he had seven receptions for 63 yards. On December 21, 2014, he scored his first professional touchdown against the Buffalo Bills. In the next game, he had another receiving touchdown, this time against the Denver Broncos. He recorded 5 receptions for 18 yards, 2 receiving touchdowns and 7

tackles. On December 8, 2015, he was signed to a three-year contract extension. On November 8, against the Pittsburgh Steelers, he had a 19-yard rushing touchdown. He posted 24 carries for 110 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown to go along with nine receptions for 84 yards and 10

tackles (led the team). On November 21, 2016, against the Houston Texans, he had a 75-yard receiving touchdown from quarterback

Derek Carr Derek Dallas Carr (born March 28, 1991) is an American football quarterback for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Fresno State, where he twice received first-team All- MWC honors, and w ...

in the 27–20 victory at

Azteca Stadium Estadio Azteca () is a multi-purpose stadium located in Mexico City. It is the official home of football clubs Club América and Cruz Azul as well as the Mexico national football team. The stadium sits at an altitude of above sea level. Wit ...

. He finished the season with 17 carries for 47 rushing yards, 12 receptions for 227 receiving yards, one receiving touchdown and 2

tackles. His production dipped in the 2017 season but he still recorded nine rushes for 43 yards and a rushing touchdown to go along with six receptions for 33 receiving yards and 3

tackles.

Dallas Cowboys (second stint)

In March 2018, the Raiders traded Olawale and a 2018 sixth-round pick (#192-

Jamil Demby Jamil Demby (born June 20, 1996) is an American football offensive guard for the Vegas Vipers of the XFL. He played college football at Maine. Early years A native of Vineland, New Jersey, Demby attended Vineland High School. Demby is of mi ...

) to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for a fifth-round choice (#73- Johnny Townsend). He appeared in 16 games with 4 starts, registering 2 receptions for 13 yards and 13

tackles (led the team). On March 13, 2019, Olawale signed a three-year, $5.4 million contract extension with the Cowboys. He appeared in 16 games with 5 starts, collecting 5

tackles (tied for fifth on the team). Although he was expected to contribute in the passing game, he could not record an offensive statistic during the season. On March 10, 2020, Olawale's second-year option was exercised by the Cowboys. On August 2, 2020, Olawale announced he would opt out of the 2020 season due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. He was released after the season on March 10, 2021.

References

External links

*
Oakland Raiders bioRaiders' Jamize Olawale has special role with team
{{DEFAULTSORT:Olawale, Jamize 1989 births Living people American football running backs Dallas Cowboys players El Camino Warriors football players North Texas Mean Green football players Oakland Raiders players Players of American football from San Francisco Players of American football from Long Beach, California Long Beach Polytechnic High School alumni