Wylie East head track and field coach Jason Olford poses for a picture with his son, Jamal, a freshman for the James Madison University football team. Photo courtesy Jason Olford
By David Wolman
Saturday’s weather forecast for Eugene, Ore., called for a reprieve from the rain and partly cloudy skies with a high temperature of 50 degrees. But Jason Olford is still preparing for the worst.
Olford plans to have his rain gear in his rental car, rain or shine, as he arrives at Autzen Stadium three hours before a 5 p.m. local kickoff (7 p.m. CDT) when he will watch his son Jamal, a 2025 Wylie East graduate and freshman defensive back for James Madison, play the Oregon Ducks in the first round of the College Football Playoff.
“I’ll have my storm gear ready to go,” said Jason, head track and field coach at Wylie East and former defensive back for the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens and Jacksonville Jaguars. “I’ll be changing into the rain gear once I get into the stadium, if needed.”
Saturday’s game will be the fifth one of Jamal’s this season that he will attend. The last game that he watched was on Tuesday, Oct. 28, when Jason made the four-hour drive to San Marcos to watch James Madison cruise to a 52-20 win over Texas State. Of course, Jason’s travels were longer and required a flight and a rental car. But he wouldn’t trade the experience of watching his son and the James Madison Dukes play in their biggest game in school history for anything else.
James Madison was one of 12 teams chosen to compete in the College Football Playoff. The Dukes earned the right to play as the No. 12 seed in the CFP after defeating Troy 31-14 in the Sun Belt Conference championship on Dec. 5. James Madison came into Saturday’s matchup with a 12-1 record, with its lone setback being a 28-14 loss to Louisville on Sept. 5.
“It’s been an exciting year,” Jason said. “I knew that they would be a good team. Coach (Bob) Chesney is one of the best in college football. I knew they would go out and represent well.”
Jamal gave a verbal commitment to James Madison on Jan. 27 and signed with the Dukes on Feb. 5 after a standout senior season with Wylie East in which he was named a unanimous selection on the All-District 9-6A team after he finished with 37 tackles, two interceptions and defended eight passes. He was the ultimate Swiss Army knife for the Raiders as he also had two touchdowns and averaged 35 yards per kickoff return.
The James Madison football team’s website lists Jamal at 5-foot-10, though Jason jokes that his son is 5-foot-9. However, Jason added that Jamal plays taller than his height suggests.
When Jamal was a kid, Jason let Jamal decide what position he wanted to play. But Jason thought that Jamal’s skill set would be better suited to play on offense.
“I was wanting him to be a wide receiver because he had good hands,” Jason said. “He ended up being a DB and playing cornerback. He loves that choice and he made that decision on his own.”
Jason did plenty of winning back during his playing days. After playing his first two years of college football at Kilgore College, where he was an all-conference selection both seasons, he was offered a full ride at Louisiana Tech.
While at Louisiana Tech, he helped lead the Bulldogs to new heights. During his senior season in 2001, Louisiana Tech was playing in its first season in the Western Athletic Conference after a long stint as an independent. The Bulldogs won the conference championship and played Clemson in the Humanitarian Bowl in Boise, Idaho.
“We fell short, but it was a great experience to play Clemson,” Jason said. “It was cool to hear all of the stories about the people there in Boise, and to play on the blue turf was awesome.”
Jamal, a freshman at James Madison, hasn’t been on the field much during his first season with the Dukes as a senior and a graduate transfer are in front of him on the team’s depth chart. But Jason believes that Jamal could see game action next season, especially if he competes well during spring practices.
“The good thing for Jamal is that a lot of the coaches see his ability and that he has a really high ceiling,” Jason said. “I told him that he’s in a great spot. I tell him to do what you’ve always done, which is what attracted the coaches to him, and that is his work ethic and athletic ability.”
Jamal is one of two Class of 2025 Wylie East graduates who competed on teams selected for the College Football Playoff. Michael Henderson III, a running back, is competing for Texas Tech. The Red Raiders, who earned the No. 4 seed in the CFP, have a first-round bye and are scheduled to play the Oregon-James Madison winner in the Capital One Orange Bowl on Jan. 1.
Henderson, a three-star recruit, finished with 1,126 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns as a senior to accompany 255 yards receiving and four receiving touchdowns.
Henderson III, like Olford, hasn’t seen any playing time in college. But the chance to have a potential reunion as opponents would be highly intriguing.
“I’ve known Michael since the seventh grade,” Jason said. “I knew right off the bat that he is a special man. He and Jamal both went to Burnett Junior High. This state and Wylie East got to see Michael. He loves the game of football, loves the challenge.”
Joining Henderson III with Texas Tech in the Orange Bowl will be Red Raiders teammate and redshirt freshman outside linebacker Cheta Ofili, a Class of 2024 Sachse High School graduate.
One of the top edge rushers in the country for the 2024 class, he helped guide Sachse to the playoffs each of his final two seasons. He was named an All-9-6A first-team selection as a senior after logging 55 tackles, 12 tackles for loss and seven sacks. He was a consensus four-star prospect by Rivals, 247Sports, ESPN and On3.
“He has quickness and flexibility,” said Sachse head coach Mark “Red” Behrens. “Hard worker, for sure.”
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