Playing varsity football for Zion-Benton as a freshman, Jamere French wasn’t quite ready.

Zee-Bees coach MacArthur White realized that.

“You would have asked, ‘Why is this kid on varsity?’” White said. “He was a little scrawny kind of guy, like 175 pounds. He didn’t really know how to take handoffs. He didn’t know how to hit the holes.”

When French recalls his freshman season, he feels the same way.

“I was a little bit timid and scared,” he said. “That year didn’t go too well.”

But two years later, that experience is paying dividends for French. He dives into his junior season as a varsity veteran who can make plays as both a running back and a linebacker for the Zee-Bees (1-8).

French’s initial speed bumps were part of the plan, according to White. When French first stepped onto Zion-Benton’s field, White saw what he could become.

“It was his work ethic,” White said. “He was a natural-born leader. He was the first guy at practice. He was actually helping out his teammates.

“The game was too fast for him, but he was doing everything else right. He was a kid that we could not let stay on the freshman team.”

Zion-Benton’s Jamere French, center, plays defense during a practice on campus in Zion on Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025. (Michael Schmidt / News-Sun)

White conferred with French and his family to share his plan with them: White would challenge French by sticking him on the varsity team, where he would struggle but would come out of the season sharpened by the grind.

“We were looking at the bigger picture,” White said. “Yes, he could have been on the freshman team and dominated every game, but we wanted to prepare him for something better. Luckily we did because he’s going to be a force to be reckoned with.”

One of French’s top takeaways from that season was that he wasn’t fast enough, wasn’t big enough and wasn’t strong enough. So he dedicated himself to a strict offseason regimen.

“I was in the weight room working nonstop,” he said.

French added nearly 20 pounds of muscle, which showed up instantly in his speed and conditioning as a sophomore starter.

“In camp, I felt way different,” he said. “I felt faster, stronger and just really hard to stop.”

That wasn’t all due to French’s work in the weight room. He honed his running form and speed on Zion-Benton’s track and field team with coach Darnell Rios, who is also the running backs coach.

“He’s just continuing to be consistent with form and technique during track, and that’s what’s really changed his sprinting ability,” Rios said.

French has posted top times of 11.1 seconds in the 100-meter dash and 22.4 seconds in the 200. According to Rios, French has learned how to use his arms to guide his legs, unlocking his full range of motion as a sprinter.

“I say, ‘You can’t run with dead arms,’” Rios said.

Zion-Benton’s Jamere French, left, heads to the end zone during a practice on campus in Zion on Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025. (Michael Schmidt / News-Sun)

Once French’s top speed is unlocked, watch out. He made that clear on the football field when the Zee-Bees were backed up on their 2-yard line during a North Suburban Conference game against Libertyville last season.

“I was lined up like 5 yards deep in the end zone,” French said.

The Zee-Bees ran a power run. French took the handoff, ran to his left, cut sharply inside and sprinted free down the right sideline.

“When I saw the linebacker pursue to the outside, I just took it,” he said. “I took it all the way. I had a good block from one of our receivers (then-senior Benjamin Burton) downfield. It was crazy.”

As French surged down the sideline, Rios knew he’d seen that sprinting before — but not when French was wearing pads.

“He hit it as if he came out of the blocks,” Rios said. “Once he got to the sideline, it was like he was back in the 100-meter dash.”

That touchdown run was French’s top moment of 2024. For 2025, the goals get loftier. French hopes Zion-Benton ends its five-season playoff drought and that he runs for 1,000 yards and earns all-conference honors.

“I’ve improved in every aspect of the game,” he said. “Football just puts me in a smooth place. It’s like a flow state when I get on the field. I just feel so calm and great.”

French will take that feeling into Zion-Benton’s season opener against North Chicago at home on Friday, ready to unlock the potential his coaches first saw when he was a freshman.

“It’s like night and day,” White said. “Now he’s hitting the holes hard. He’s making the right blocks. He’s making the right reads. But that’s all a testament to him and his hard work over the years to prepare himself to be as good as he is right now.”

Sam Brief is a freelance reporter.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/08/28/football-zion-benton-jamere-french/