The next year Jamelle was on the varsity, and was gaining recognition as one of the best sophomores in the state. And then his season ended when he suffered a knee injury. I was up in the box during the game, so I didn’t get to see him until after the game. At that point, I had no idea the severity of the injury, and so I asked him if he was going to be OK. All he said, was “No, Coach.” Over the next few months he rehabbed, determined to be ready for his junior year. This blows me away, but at one point during the rehab process Jamelle apologized to his family for (very briefly) feeling sorry for himself in the wake of the injury. He wanted people to understand that he knew God has a plan for his life, and this injury was part of it. That got my attention, and I began to develop a whole new level of admiration for this young man. I knew that I did not have the maturity that this kid already had.
Not only was he ready for his junior year, he was 1st team all-state and our team played in the state title game. You can see a short Jamelle highlight film from the championship game here. During his senior year, we began having a discipleship study for players on Saturday mornings after they had watched film. These kids had played the night before, and had the rest of their weekend in front of them, but Jamelle was there each week. After a very strong 12th grade year, he needed to choose where to play college ball.
The recruiting process was a challenging one, as schools made their offers and a stream of Coaches came through. I remember two things in particular about that time as I watched Jamelle handle everything: first, he talked about praying through it and trusting the Lord to put him wherever He wanted him. Secondly, at one point when he got jerked around in a big way by an SEC school, he refused to complain or whine about it. For an 18-year old, heck for anybody, that was incredibly impressive.
He landed at NC State, where he quickly established himself as one of the hardest workers in their program. The strength coach at NCSU was my strength coach when I played in college, and so I called and asked Coach Rice about Jamelle. No surprise, he got rave reviews for his effort and leadership.
Now, he’s finished playing in college and is working to prepare for a career in pro football. I saw a list recently that had Jamelle ranked as the number 33 running back in this year’s draft class. I don’t know much about most of the young men from 1 to 32, but Jamelle Eugene is a man I would want on my team. He trains, practices and plays with unmatched intensity. He makes everbody around him better. Personally, I am a better man and more devoted Christian as a result of having worked with him. Please pray for Jamelle as the Lord leads him into the next phase of his life.
80’s Lyric