Bleacher Report - Articles by Andre Johnson

Rags to Riches: Michael Oher Pulls Off-the-Field Comeback for the Ages

Andre Johnson — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 20:24:23 -0400

By ANDRE JOHNSON

Michael Oher wasn't a bit perplexed. He knew it was bound to happen at some point.

So as the ESPN crew periodically aimed its cameras toward Oher during the recent NFL Draft, the star offensive lineman seemed his usual reserved self, relinquishing any thoughts of displaying a front for the millions of viewers who watched the opening round unfold.

In fact, he remained poised throughout what was a lengthy process, much like the other eight first-round locks who accepted the league's invitation of hanging out in the Green Room on draft day.

Even after slipping a number of spots and eventually being left as the lone prospect in the Green Room when the Houston Texans had taken former Southern California All-American linebacker Brian Cushing with the 15th pick, Oher did not appear baffled.

Instead, the 23-year-old Memphis native took a moment to envision which team was on the verge of landing arguably the most talked-about prospect leading up to the draft, the kid who several football analysts had christened the sentimental selection, given the tumultuous life that was dealt to him prior to college.

After nearly three hours, his fate had finally been sealed, capping what many would label an off-the-field comeback for the ages.

"With the 23rd pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, the Baltimore Ravens select Michael Oher, offensive tackle, University of Mississippi," NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced, finally.

The former Briarcrest Christian School star emerged from the Green Room, proudly put on his employer's cap fearing its logo, embraced his family, made his way across the Radio City Music Hall stage, shook Goodell's hand, and then posed for a few photos with the commish, while holding a No. 1 Ravens jersey.

Such a sequence, in a nutshell, intrinsically marked yet another chapter to a remarkable story that only keeps getting better.

"It could have been shorter," Oher, in a recent telephone conversation from Baltimore, said of his wait in the Green Room. "But it doesn't matter. I got drafted and that's the most important thing. I was excited because I knew I was going to get drafted. Don't feel sorry for me."

Although several teams rejected the notion of drafting Oher because of what they perceived to be intelligence issues, the Ravens organization was ecstatic to see him fall to their position. Oher was a two-time First Team All-American and All-Southeastern Conference player. His skills have drawn comparisons to seven-time Pro-Bowler Orlando Pace, now with the Chicago Bears.

Thinking the Buffalo Bills were in serious discussion to get Oher, the Ravens traded their fifth-round selection to New England to move up from No. 26 to 23.

Unlike the teams that passed on him, they sensed Oher was a true mastermind on the field.

Eric DeCosta, the Ravens Director of Player Personnel, for example, was among those who watched Oher intensely during the club's recent organized team activities, and felt he would be a great fit from the outset.

Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said he was among those surprised that Oher was still available after nearly three-fourths of the first round was in the books.

Team General Manager and Executive Vice President Ozzie Newsome said not only have the Ravens picked up a special player, but the city of Baltimore got a really good person.

"I think over the course of his career, we're going to be able to enjoy both of them," Newsome said.

The Briarcrest community certainly can attest to both sides of Oher, whose life prior to college is the subject of author Michael Lewis' 2006 New York Times bestseller book, The Blind Side: Evolution Of A Game, and a movie entitled The Blind Side that is scheduled to be released in November.

While growing up in North Memphis, Oher was left to fend for himself by age seven after his father, who was not involved in his upbringing, was shot to death and thrown off a bridge.

His mother was an alcoholic and drug addict, and the fact that he was in school was a story in itself. He flunked both first and second grade, and attended 11 different schools during his first nine years as a student.

Additionally, it was discovered that Oher had been absent from school as many as 50 days a semester, which ultimately resulted in him possessing a cumulative grade point average of .6 and an IQ of 80. Basically, he was a lost child, one of 13 siblings to be exact.

How else to explain why the poor lad wound up safeguarding himself on the brutal streets of North Memphis, not to mention spending time in various foster homes with no permanent address until he was 16 years old? Nevertheless, there was a silver lining to a story that many, to this very day, still have a hard time believing.

With the help of an acquaintance, with whom Oher was staying temporarily, Oher enrolled at Briarcrest, a private, Christian-based institution in Northeast Shelby County.

Despite Hugh Freeze, the former Briarcrest football coach, expressing interest in the kid, school administrators did not feel he was capable of fulfilling the school's academic standards given his checkered educational background. Consequently, he was granted admission through a home-study program that removed him from the public school system.

Although his grades did not reflect it at one point, it is safe to say that Briarcrest was the perfect place for this miracle child.

Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy's daughter, who was a student at Briarcrest, spotted him walking to the gym one day during Thanksgiving break. The couple stopped their vehicle and gave Oher a ride.

The giving, as it turns out, did not end there. The Tuohys, an upper-class white family, eventually ended up adopting Oher, despite being grilled by friends and extended family members for taking in a poor black kid.

One moment, he is using someone's front porch as a mattress. The next moment, a bighearted family is tucking him in at night.

The Tuohys gave him a home. They gave him his own room. They gave him clothes. They gave him a tutor. Most importantly, though, they provided a new beginning to the life of a kid who, not too long along ago, seemed headed for being yet another statistic.

"It's just like a recycle thing," Oher says. "You grow up, you drop out of high school, and go back to the hood. It took a lot of hard work for me to get out. I mean, I don't know why I wanted to do it. I've never seen nobody just graduate and be productive. (The Tuohys) showed me the other side of the world."

A world that ultimately landed Oher on football's largest stage, thanks to a high school career in which he was the No. 1 offensive tackle prospect in the nation, and a collegiate career in which many dubbed him the best offensive lineman in Ole Miss history.

He likely has already secured the Ravens' starting right tackle position after the recent retirement of 13-year veteran Willie Anderson. So waiting hours in the Green Room and being left by himself was time well spent, if you ask Oher.

"Where I'm from, nobody gets out," he said.

Luckily for Oher, he managed to get out, capping what many would label an off-the-field comeback for the ages.

UT-Martin's Lester Hudson Goes from High School Dropout to NBA Prospect

Andre Johnson — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 17:59:19 -0400

By ANDRE JOHNSON

He enrolled at the oldest public school in Memphis in Central High, where students are encouraged to live up to the school’s longstanding motto of Enhancing A Tradition Of Excellence. But Lester Hudson, it seemed, could care less about catchwords and slogans.

For two years, he skipped classes, roamed the halls, routinely played hooky, and hung out with the wrong crowd. When he often found his way to the classroom, he paid no attention to his instructors. He hated school with a passion. His priorities were so screwed up he flunked ninth grade.

Sure, it is safe to say that Hudson dodged high school the way a quarterback eludes defensive linemen. But unlike most of his peers with whom he ran the rugged and crime-stricken streets of South Memphis, this incredibly talented kid was blessed with a gift that has, in a number of ways, produced a golden opportunity for him to erase the memory of the setbacks he endured as a teenager.

For years, whether he was partaking in pickup or organized games, Hudson 's presence on the basketball court was too difficult to overlook, particularly by those who worked vigorously to help him reach greater heights in the sport. And, if things turn out the way many draft experts predict during the June 25 NBA Draft, the ex-Tennessee-Martin star combo guard could wound up savoring the hefty paychecks that come with appearing on basketball's grandest stage.

For the 24-year-old Hudson, who is projected as a mid-to-late second-round pick, earning a spot on an NBA roster would be the greatest off-the-court accomplishment since he earned his GED four years ago. After all, his willingness to clear a few educational hurdles is the No. 1 reason the Associated Press All-American (Honorable Mention) and two-time Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year is just weeks away from potentially embarking on the biggest break in his life.

One moment, he is a high school dropout with fading hoop dreams on the brink of being all but forgotten, just like so many others who have put their skills on display in high school gyms throughout this basketball-rich city. Today, he is one of college basketball’s biggest success stories, the face of the UT Martin basketball program, not to mention the guy who seized national headlines time and again since arriving in the small, rural northwest Tennessee town of roughly 11,000 two years ago.

In fact, college hoops fans and national basketball writers couldn't help but pay close attention to all the hoopla surrounding college basketball's version of the Comeback Kid, whose game has drawn comparisons to Atlanta Hawks combo guard Flip Murray. All he did during his final season at UTM was share the national spotlight with fellow mid-major phenom and First Team All-American Stephen Curry of Davidson by finishing second in scoring nationally at 27.5 points per game.

The 6-foot-3 Hudson picked up where he left off after quickly coming under the radar in his first full season of Division 1 basketball a year ago. For instance, he was the only D1 player to manage 20 or more points in the first 26 games of the season. Additionally, he scored 30 or more points 11 times, including a 42-point outburst against Tennessee Tech in the opening round of the OVC tournament. On the flip side, he's proven he could compete against the nation's big boys.

Let's not forget his coming-out-party last year against Memphis—the eventual national runner-up—when he scorched the Tigers for 35 points and 10 rebounds in his return to the Bluff City. Or his impressive showings against NCAA-tourney bound Vanderbilt (36 points, nine rebounds, and six assists) and Mississippi State (27 points, 11 rebounds).

Furthermore, let's not forget when Hudson became the only player in D1 history to record a quadruple-double with 25 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists, and 10 steals in a 116-74 win over Central Baptist College three games into the 2008-09 season, a performance that raised even more eyebrows among the college coaches who passed up the chance on a scoring whiz with the lengthy history of academic issues.

Nevertheless, UT Martin was willing to a take a gamble on, shall we say, Central’s damaged goods and, boy, did the Skyhawks cash in.

"Coming to Martin was the best decision I’ve ever made," Hudson said. "I guess angels were looking over me."

His former high school coach, Andre Applewhite, was among those watching him intensely. Applewhite, who coached Hudson for one season at Central, is among those for whom Hudson credits for helping steer him in the right direction. Applewhite walked in the school’s gymnasium one day and noticed Hudson—a sophomore at the time—having his way with his varsity players. Fully aware of Hudson’s academic misfortunes, Applewhite yanked Hudson off the court and explained to him the importance of getting an education. He then invited him to try out for the team, but only if Hudson promised to do away with the foolishness.

"Coach Applewhite said, ‘If I was to give you the opportunity to play, would you change?’ Hudson recalled. "He said, ‘Would you go to class? Would you come to school? Would you stay out of trouble?’"

Hudson, of course, held up to his end of the deal and, as a result, went on to have a stellar junior campaign for Central. However, because he repeated one grade and turned 19 months later, he was ruled ineligible to play as a senior. It wasn't long afterward that Applewhite began noticing the Hudson of old.

"That was devastating to him," Applewhite said. "He basically reverted back to his old self. That set him back for a while. I told him he's still got to come to school and he's got to do this for himself."

Without basketball, Hudson eventually quit school and returned to the dangerous streets of South Memphis. His dreams were apparently gone, his talent was seemingly wasted, and there was no one to rescue him out of what appeared to be a dead end situation.

Well, no one, except Applewhite.

"He told me he wasn't going to let me waste my talent," Hudson said. "He took me to (his old) junior college and coach (Southwest Tennessee Community College's Vertis) Sails put me in the GED program and helped me get ready for classes. He gave me the opportunity to play basketball."

Today, it is evident that basketball isn't Hudson's top priority, considering he earned his degree in University Studies on May 9. That, in a nutshell, was monumental for a kid who went against his family's wishes and put off entering the draft after a memorable season last year. Quitting school wasn’t an option this time around.

"I told them, 'We've been poor all this time, so another year won't hurt," Hudson said, laughing.

If things turn out the way draft experts predict in the coming weeks, this comeback kid could very well find himself laughing all the way to the bank, with a college degree being his top reserve.