Michael Oher

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Michael Oher
College Ole Miss
Conference SEC
Sport Football
Position OT
Jersey # 74
Class Senior
Career 2005 – present
Height 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Weight 325 lb (147 kg)
Nationality USA
Born May 28, 1986 (1986-05-28) (age 22)
Flag of Tennessee Memphis, TN
High school Briarcrest Christian School,
Memphis, TN

Michael Jerome Oher (born Michael Jerome Williams Jr. on May 28, 1986) is an American college football player at the University of Mississippi. An offensive lineman, he is commonly regarded as a top prospect for left tackle in the National Football League.

Contents

[edit] Personal life

Oher's father was not involved in his upbringing (and was murdered when he was a junior in high school), and his mother was addicted to crack cocaine. As a result, he received little constructive attention during his formative years. He repeated both first grade and second grade, and attended eleven different schools during his first nine years as a student. He also alternated between time spent in various foster homes and periods with no fixed address until he was sixteen years old.[1]

That year, Oher applied for admission to a private school, Briarcrest Christian School, at the instigation of acquaintance Tony Henderson, with whom he was staying temporarily. Henderson was sending his son to the school in order to fulfill the dying wish of the boy's grandmother, and he decided that Oher might as well come along. Although the school's football coach was interested in Oher, school administrators did not feel that he was capable of handling the school's academic workload due to his scant educational background; however, he was admitted after he attempted to qualify for admission through a home-study program that removed him from the public education system.[1]

A white couple with a daughter at the school, Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy, allowed Oher to move in with them and began taking care of his needs after becoming familiar with his difficult personal circumstances. They also connected him with a tutor, who worked with him for twenty hours a week, eventually bringing his low-D performance up to a 2.05 grade point average. A series of internet-based courses from Brigham Young University served as replacements for poor marks earned earlier in his academic career, enabling him to become eligible to play football in college.[1]

[edit] Football career

Oher didn't play organized football of any kind until his junior year at Briarcrest Christian School, and he did not play left tackle until his senior year, where he replaced graduating senior Adam Madrid. Despite this, he was extremely well regarded as a prospect once he came to the attention of scouts, due to his size and athleticism. Oher was selected to play in the 2005 U.S. Army All-American Bowl. ESPN football analyst Tom Lemming ranked him as the #1 offensive line prospect in high school in 2004, and also said, "Michael Oher’s athletic ability and his body — the only thing you could compare it to was Orlando Pace."[1]

After receiving scholarship offers from the University of Tennessee, Louisiana State University, the University of Alabama, and North Carolina State University, among others, Oher ultimately decided to attend the University of Mississippi, the Tuohys' alma mater.[2] His decision was not without controversy. The National Collegiate Athletic Association suspected that the Tuohys had taken Oher in and added him to their wills in order to secure his services as a player for their school, but an investigation did not affect his eligibility. Oher's high school coach Hugh Freeze also created the appearance of possible impropriety by taking a job as UM's assistant athletic director for external affairs twenty days after Oher signed a letter of intent with the school. Freeze claimed that the offer was not an example of quid pro quo for encouraging Oher to attend Mississippi, but rather the result of a pre-existing relationship with Mississippi offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone. [3] The NCAA later ruled that Freeze had committed secondary violations by contacting Memphis-area prospects on behalf of the school before he had officially become an employee.[4]

Oher started in 10 games as a guard during his first season with Mississippi, becoming a first-team freshman All American. He shifted to his natural position of left tackle for the 2006 season, and was named to a variety of preseason All-Conference and All-American teams.[5][6] He currently has a listed height of 6'6" and a listed weight of 322 pounds.[7] He was named a second-team SEC offensive lineman after his sophomore season and a first-team SEC offensive lineman after his junior season.

On January 14, 2008, Oher declared that he would be entering the 2008 NFL Draft.[8]

On January 16, 2008, Oher announced his withdrawal from the 2008 NFL Draft to return to Ole Miss for his senior season.[9] During the off seasons, Oher works out at D1 Sports Training in Memphis and Nashville.

[edit] The Blind Side

Oher is the subject of Michael Lewis's 2006 book, The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game. A portion of the book was excerpted before publication in the New York Times Magazine as "The Ballad of Big Mike." The book has been adapted for film and will be directed by John Lee Hancock [10]

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d "The Ballad of Big Mike, Michael Lewis, The New York Times Magazine, published September 24, 2006, accessed October 4, 2006.
  2. ^ "Ten talented recruits on UT's radar this weekend", Dave Hooker, The Knoxville News Sentinel, published November 5, 2004, accessed October 4, 2006.
  3. ^ "Oher's Ole Miss ties may be hard to break", Dave Hooker, The Knoxville News Sentinel, published January 17, 2005, accessed October 4, 2006.
  4. ^ "Outside the Lines: Recruiting Ethics", Joe Schad, ESPN.com, published September 14, 2006, accessed October 4, 2006.
  5. ^ "Patrick Willis, Michael Oher named to Coaches All-SEC Football Team", The Oxford Eagle, published July 21, 2006, accessed October 4, 2006.
  6. ^ "2006 SEC Football - Week 5 Game Previews", SECsports.com, published September 26, 2006, accessed October 4, 2006.
  7. ^ "Michael Oher Bio", Olemisssports.com, accessed October 25, 2007.
  8. ^ "Ole Miss LT Oher to enter NFL draft", The Associated Press, published January 14, 2008, accessed January 16, 2008.
  9. ^ Oher Reconsiders, Returns for Senior Season - OleMissSports.com—Official Web Site of University of Mississippi Athletics
  10. ^ "John Lee Hancock to Guard the Blind Side".