By Desmond Bernal
Andrew Jamiel, a recent 2020 graduate and one of the best wide receivers to go through Stonehill Football’s program, is excited to give it everything he has in a new football league called Fan Controlled Football (FCF).
“I am going in with the same mindset I have always had just give a hundred and ten percent every play… and be the best receiver I can be,” Jamiel said.
Jamiel, the 23-year-old Cape Cod native from Yarmouth, Mass., made a name for himself as a wide receiver while at Stonehill. The 5-foot-10-inch receiver broke all the receiving records in the school’s history. Jamiel became the first receiver in program history to surpass 300 receptions, 3,000 yards, and register 30 touchdowns during his Stonehill career, according to Stonehill Athletics. After his senior 2019 season at Stonehill wrapped up, he had plans to take his talents further and play at the professional level.
“Some of the numbers I had were pretty eye-opening to some scouts at the time at the Canadian Football League (CFL) and even the NFL,” Jamiel said after getting some attention from professional leagues.
Jamiel said the buzz of his name mentioned around different leagues motivated him to start training through the winter and ultimately hold a pro-day or pro-evaluation in the spring. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, he had to find a different route.
However, his drive did not end, and he continued to work out at some showcases across the country. Jamiel said he started making some connections and built a relationship with Deondre Francois, a former starting quarterback for Florida State University. Jamiel said Francois informed him of a workout in Georgia for a new league called Fan Controlled Football.
“I didn’t even need to hear much more because the worst case is I can go there either have a great day or a bad day,” he said. “It was just a great opportunity to go there and get some good competition, and everything is filmed so I would have some good film to send to more teams.”
Jamiel did not know until he arrived but it was not a regular workout; instead, it was a tryout for one of the FCF teams called Glacier Boyz. Donald De La Haye, notably known for his YouTube name, “Deestroying,” hosted the tryout. Deestroying posted a video to his YouTube channel about the tryout in which Jamiel made several appearances. Jamiel had a noteworthy workout catching 14 of the 15 passes thrown to him in 1-on-1 drills and caught Deestorying and his fans’ attention. One fan posted in the comment section, “How many want him [Deestroying] to pick up #39?” That comment received 17,000 likes, and the player wearing #39 was Jamiel.
“I just went down there doing my thing, and I expected to have that much success down there,” Jamiel said about his performance at the workout for the FCF.
Jamiel said he was offered a contract shortly after the workout. After looking into it, he did not see any downsides and joined the league.
“I found out about who the other owners were, and they were some big-name people, so that was an attraction itself; I just knew the exposure would be good,” Jamiel said on joining the FCF.
The Fan Controlled Football League is a four league team, each co-owner by well-known celebrities and athletes such as Quavo, Richard Sherman, Marshawn Lynch, Austin Ekler, Deestroying, and others.
It is a league entirely controlled by the fans, where the fans get to be the owners, general managers, and coaches. Therefore, the fans decide what player a team signs, the plays during the actual games, and the rules.
Every Wednesday, the fans draft the players they want to see on their favorite team for the given week. So, players can be on one team one week then a different one with entirely new players the other.
The league is different from traditional football because instead of 11 guys on the field, it is 7-on-7. Another difference is the field, being only 50-yards long with 10-yard end zones.
The league consists of a 3-week regular season, with the championship game set for March 20. Each game will last 60-minutes and will be live-streamed on Twitch, a live-streaming platform, from its “bubble” in Atlanta, Georgia.
Jamiel started making a name for himself in the practices and scrimmages in Atlanta. Jamiel appeared in a segment called “Deep Fade,” where comedian/barber Marcus Harvey said people in the league began giving Jamiel the nickname “route tree” because of his ability to run routes efficiently.
“That nickname was sweet, I liked that they gave me that name, but being a smaller guy, it is all about getting separation, so I’ve always been a good route runner,” Jamiel said.
Jamiel credited the skills he learned at the receiver position to his father, who played football at Brown University, and his older brother, who played DI football at Sacred Heart University.
“I come from a football family, and I wouldn’t be the football player I am today without them,” Jamiel said.
Jamiel will be competing with top-level talent across the country - one being the 2012 Heisman winner, Johnny Manziel, who signed a contract with the Zappers to be the team’s quarterback.
Wednesday night was the first draft of the league; before the draft, Jamiel said it did not matter where he landed. He knew the possibility of playing with different quarterbacks on different teams throughout the season. However, if he did have to choose, he said he would love to be part of the Glacier Boyz because of his relationship with Deestorying.
Andrew Jamiel was taken second overall in the first round of the Fan Controlled Football League’s first draft to the Glacier Boyz.
Jamiel will be playing in his first game on Saturday, February 13, at 8:00 p.m EST on Twitch.tv/FCF and is ready to make a name for himself.
“Each and every game, I want to go out there and light it up like I have always done,” Jamiel said. “I am just happy to be here, and I am happy for the opportunity.”
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