Jake Oliver: A name known by everyone on the Jesuit campus and a young man marveled at by people around the metroplex. Jake Oliver: A natural born athlete, a football player since the pee-wee league days. Jake Oliver: A record-setting wide receiver at Jesuit, coveted by many college scouts. Jake Oliver: A powerful and emotional player who shows great character, poise, and leadership.
After yet another marvelous season on the football field, Jake Oliver ’13 was nominated for The Tom Landry Award, which is awarded to the top football player in the state of Texas. Oliver, who is one of five finalists along with Allen’s Alec Morris, Denton Ryan’s Mario Edwards Jr., McKinney Boyd’s Bryan Driskell, and Aledo’s Johnathan Gray, was honored for his talents, performance, and leadership on the football field.
A standout player since his time as a St. Rita Spartan, Oliver has always been known as one of the best football players around, and his abilities both as a player and as a leader have shown themselves over the past 3 years at Jesuit.
Needing a mere 50 receptions in his senior season next year to match the record, Oliver is looking to break Texas standout Jordan Shipley’s career mark for catches.
Only a junior, Oliver already has scholarship offers to play football at 8 Division I schools: Arizona, Cal, Michigan, Baylor, Texas A&M, UNT, Mississippi State, and Texas Tech. He is expected to receive more within the next year.
Although Oliver didn’t win the Tom Landry Award, named after the World Champion head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, on December 8, 2011, his nomination certainly is a wonderful, prestigious honor, especially for a junior in high school.
Though Oliver posted mind-boggling numbers this season, the winner was Johnathan Gray from Aledo, who broke the national record for rushing touchdowns in a season and has committed to the University of Texas.
Look for Oliver to continue his success next year for the Rangers and down the line as a college athlete.
