Ja’Mar Toombs ’03
Aggie Football letterman fulfills promise to earn his A&M degree
By Charean Williams ’86
Ja’Mar Toombs kept his promise.
In May 2024 — 26 years after he arrived in College Station — the former Texas A&M fullback earned his degree in agricultural leadership and development and walked the stage at Reed Arena.
It fulfilled a promise to himself, his mother, his tutor and his late son.
“I always felt like it was an honor in itself that, even though I didn’t get stardom after leaving A&M, they still treated me like Johnny Manziel,” Toombs said. “I love the time that I played and what it did for me, but being able to finish and get my degree and be a ‘real’ alum, I feel like that puts me on the same level. I wasn’t just somebody who was on the field. I went through the grind and got the paperwork, too.”
Toombs, a highly recruited running back from Kilgore, Texas, originally committed to Florida State. When his mother, Angela Belle, asked how she was supposed to watch him play at a school 750 miles from her home, Toombs told her she could watch on TV. Soon enough, he was making a trip to A&M.
“I enjoyed my visit,” Toombs said, “but I told them, ‘I want to sleep on it,’ not wanting to make a rash decision. I was still leaning toward Florida State, but that night, I woke up in the middle of the night hearing the Aggie War Hymn. It was crazy. I said, ‘I guess I’m going to A&M.’”
Toombs won the hearts of Aggies, and A&M won his heart. In three seasons, to chants of “Toooo-mbs,” the Big Rumble gained 1,638 yards from scrimmage and scored 27 touchdowns.
“When I first went to a game, I thought they were booing him,” Belle said. “I asked my husband, ‘Why are they booing him? They don’t even know him.’ He hadn’t even been there long. I asked Ja’Mar the same thing when the game was over, and he said, ‘Momma, they aren’t booing. They’re saying Toooo-mbs.’ It was something else.”
Following his junior season at A&M, Toombs declared for the NFL Draft. The decision went against the advice of head coach R.C. Slocum and the wishes of his mother, who hoped he would stay in school and finish his degree. Toombs, though, was driven by a strong desire to support his family with the opportunity a rookie contract could provide.
“It’s just fulfilling, knowing that I started something a long time ago and was able to finally finish it. It’s something I really wanted to do.”
Toombs arrived at the Scouting Combine heavier than expected, raising concerns about his readiness for the next level. Although he never got the opportunity to play in the NFL, he continued pursuing his dream in the Arena Football League with the Dallas Desperados and New York Dragons.
Toombs admits that returning to A&M would have been the right move after his NFL aspirations fell short, but with three children to support, providing for his family took priority. He began working, including as a substitute teacher and an assistant football coach.
He took a mix of online and community college courses on and off through the years, chipping away at the 51 credit hours he lacked for a degree when he left A&M in 2001.
Tiersa Hopkins worked as an academic specialist for the athletics department while Toombs was in school. She took Toombs under her wing, not only tutoring him but serving as a second mother to him.
Even after they both left A&M, Hopkins continued to serve as an advisor, a mentor, a tutor and an encourager for Toombs. She cried as many tears of joy as Toombs did when he walked across the stage in Aggieland.
“It took so much sticking with it, but I knew he would do it,” Hopkins said. “I had no doubt about it. He has come too far and put too much into this university not to walk away with that diploma.
“Once you get that degree, they can’t take that away. He earned that. Ja’Mar now is in position to have that professional job he’s always wanted.”
Toombs did not get serious about completing his degree until he made a promise to his oldest son, Cory. In 2009, Cory was diagnosed with acinic cell carcinoma, a cancer of the neck and throat. He went through dozens of surgeries and radiation treatments before his death in 2021 at the age of 23. Lamar University, where Cory was attending school as an aspiring graphic artist, awarded him with an honorary degree.
Cory inspired Ja’Mar to become a first-generation college graduate.
“We’d talk about a whole bunch of stuff,” Toombs said of his son. “I would tell him, ‘I’m going to go back and finish my school. That will propel me hopefully to find somewhere I’m making good money, and I want to one day be able to fund a scholarship in your name for art kids.’ He said, ‘Well, you make sure you go back and get it.’
“I told him, ‘I’m not going to let anybody forget you.’”
Three years after the death of his son, and 24 years after his final carry at A&M, Toombs earned his diploma. His Aggie Ring indicates he’s the Class of 2003, but he walked with the Class of 2024.
“I told them, ‘I’m glad y’all let me crash your graduation,’” Toombs said.
Much changed at A&M from the time he started to the time he finished, including the name of his major. He began as an agriculture development major, which changed to agricultural leadership and development.
He is changed, too, after finishing what he started.
“I hate that it took so long,” Toombs said. “I didn’t think about filling out employment forms way back then and how important that degree was. It’s just fulfilling, knowing that I started something a long time ago and was able to finally finish it. It’s something I really wanted to do.”