Jamelle Holieway (born June 25, 1967) is an American former college and professional football player who was a

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

for the

University of Oklahoma , mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State" , type = Public research university , established = , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.7billion (2021) , pr ...

. He led the

Oklahoma Sooners The Oklahoma Sooners are the athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to a nickname given to the early participants in the Land Ru ...

to a national championship in 1985. Holieway is considered one of the greatest option quarterbacks in

NCAA Division I-A The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As ...

history. Highly recruited from Banning High School in

Wilmington, Los Angeles Wilmington is a neighborhood in the Harbor region of Los Angeles, California, covering . Featuring a heavy concentration of industry and the third-largest oil field in the continental United States, this neighborhood has a high percentage of L ...

, California, under longtime head coach Chris Ferragamo, Holieway attracted interest from a swarm of schools. Oklahoma, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Colorado, Oregon, and USC came after Holieway. His decision to play for the Sooners came at the last minute, as he had a three-year-old sister that he didn't want to leave behind.

College career

At Oklahoma, he took over for an injured

Troy Aikman Troy Kenneth Aikman (born November 21, 1966) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. After transferring from Oklahoma, he played college football at UCLA, ...

in his freshman year in the Miami game when

Jerome Brown Willie Jerome Brown III (February 4, 1965 – June 25, 1992) was an American football defensive tackle for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played his entire five-year NFL career with the Eagles from 1987 to 199 ...

and

Dan Sileo Daniel William Sileo (born January 3, 1963) is a former American football defensive tackle. He played college football at Maryland before transferring to Miami (FL). He was drafted in the third round of the 1987 NFL supplemental draft by the Ta ...

broke Aikman's leg. Holieway led the Sooners to an 11–1–0 record under Coach

Barry Switzer Barry Layne Switzer (born October 5, 1937) is a former American football coach and player. He served for 16 years as head football coach at the University of Oklahoma and four years as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football Le ...

and won the 1986 Orange Bowl against the

Penn State Nittany Lions The Penn State Nittany Lions are the athletic teams of Pennsylvania State University, except for the women's basketball team, known as the Lady Lions. The school colors are navy blue and white. The school mascot is the Nittany Lion. The interc ...

for the national championship. Holieway threw a 71-yard touchdown pass in that game to All-American tight end Keith Jackson. Holieway was the first true freshman quarterback to lead his team to the national title. Holieway tore the

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligament Cruciate ligaments (also cruciform ligaments) are pairs of ligaments arranged like a letter X. They occur in several joints of the body, such as the knee joint and th ...

(ACL) in his left knee in a game against the

Oklahoma State Cowboys The Oklahoma State Cowboys and Cowgirls are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Oklahoma State University, located in Stillwater. The program's mascot is a cowboy named Pistol Pete. Oklahoma State participates at the National Col ...

on November 7, 1987. Holieway was running an option-play to the left and turned to cut upfield. His left knee got caught on the Superturf on Owen Field. He underwent reconstructive knee surgery shortly after the injury, and rehabilitated in the offseason. Though he came back to play the following season, he saw limited action and reinjured the leg on October 8, 1988 versus the Texas Longhorns. The injury plagued Holieway for the remainder of the 1988 season, and he eventually lost his starting job to Charles Thompson. Thompson, however, broke his leg on the final play of the Nebraska game on November 19, 1988, so Holieway became the starter again for the Citrus Bowl vs. Clemson, in a 13–6 loss on January 2, 1989. Holieway finished his Sooner career with 2,713 yards rushing on 539 attempts (an average of 5.0 yards per carry) and 32 touchdowns. Through the air, he threw 257 times, completing 117 passes for 2,430 yards with 22 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. His passing efficiency rating was 84.9 over 39 collegiate games. Later on, Holieway acknowledged that he received favors from school boosters and Coach Switzer, but denied ever receiving any cash payments.

College statistics

Professional career

Holieway played professionally for the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

Los Angeles Raiders The Los Angeles Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Los Angeles from 1982 to 1994 before relocating back to Oakland, California, where the team played from its inaugural 1960 season to the 1981 season and then agai ...

(1989–1990) and the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions played their first seas ...

(1991–1992).

Personal life

Holieway still lives in Oklahoma and spends much of his summers coaching football camps.

References

External links

Jamelle Holieway Career Stats, Oklahoma Sooners

Holieway's 71 yard touchdown pass to Keith Jackson in the 1986 Orange Bowl National Championship Game
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holieway, Jamelle 1967 births Living people American football quarterbacks American players of Canadian football BC Lions players Canadian football quarterbacks Los Angeles Raiders players Oklahoma Sooners football players People from Wilmington, Los Angeles Phineas Banning High School alumni Players of American football from Los Angeles County, California Sportspeople from Carson, California