Michael Oher

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Michael Oher on Ravens

Oher during training camp in Aug 2009
No. 74     Baltimore Ravens
Offensive tackle
Personal information
Date of birth: May 28, 1986 (1986-05-28) (age 23)
Place of birth: Memphis, Tennessee
Height: 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) Weight: 309 lb (140 kg)
Career information
College: Ole Miss
NFL Draft: 2009 / Round: 1 / Pick: 23
Debuted in 2009 for the Baltimore Ravens
Career history
 As player:
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of week 12, 2009
Games played     11
Games started     11
Fumble recoveries     0
Stats at NFL.com

Michael Jerome Oher (born Michael Jerome Oher, Jr.; May 28, 1986) is an American professional football player for the Baltimore Ravens. He played college football at the University of Mississippi for the Ole Miss Rebels. His life prior to college is the subject of Michael Lewis's 2006 book, The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game and the 2009 film The Blind Side.

Contents

[edit] High school career

Michael attended school only sporadically before he started high school. After playing football his freshman year at a public school in Memphis, Oher transferred to Briarcrest Christian School, where he was named Division II (2A) Lineman of the Year in 2003 and First Team Tennessee All-State.[1] Scout.com rated Oher a five-star recruit and the #5 offensive lineman prospect in the country.[2]

[edit] College career

After receiving scholarship offers from the University of Tennessee, Louisiana State University, the University of Alabama, and the University of South Carolina, among others, Oher ultimately decided to attend the University of Mississippi, the alma mater of Leigh Anne Tuohy and Sean Tuohy, with whom he was living at the time.[3] His decision was not without controversy. The National Collegiate Athletic Association suspected that the Tuohys had taken Oher in and added him to their will in order to secure his services as a player for their favorite college, but an investigation did not affect his eligibility.[4] 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.[5] 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.[6]

Oher started in 10 games as a guard during his first season with Mississippi, becoming a first-team freshman All American. He shifted to the position of left tackle for the 2006 season, and was named to a variety of preseason All-Conference and All-American teams.[7][8] 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.[9] However, two days later, he announced his withdrawal from the draft to return to Ole Miss for his senior season.[10] After the 2008-2009 college football season, Oher was selected to the AP All-American first team,[11] made the honor roll for the second time (the first time being his sophomore year),[12][13] and graduated with a degree in criminal justice in the spring of 2009.[14]

[edit] College awards and honors

  • 2005 First Team Freshman All-America
  • 2005 First Team SEC All-Freshman
  • 2007 First Team All-SEC
  • 2008 First Team All-America
  • 2008 First Team All-SEC
  • 2008 Shug Jordan Award as the Southeast Offensive Lineman of the Year
  • 2008 Colonel Earl “Red” Blaik Leadership-Scholarship Award
  • 2008 Outland Trophy finalist
  • 2008 Conerly Trophy finalist
  • 2008 Lombardi Award semifinalist

Michael Oher

[edit] Professional career

[edit] 2009 NFL Draft

The Baltimore Ravens drafted Oher in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft. Oher was the 23rd pick in the first round, a pick Baltimore received from the New England Patriots in exchange for the Ravens' 1st and 5th round picks. The Tuohy family was there to witness his draft day selection.

Pre-draft measureables
Ht Wt 40-yard dash 10-yd split 20-yd split 20 ss 3-cone Vert Broad BP Wonderlic
6-6 320 lb 5.30 * 4.60 * 7.59 * 31½ in * 8′7″ * 21 * 19

(* represents NFL Combine)

[edit] Baltimore Ravens

On April 26, 2009, he was assigned the #74 jersey,[15] which was his jersey number at Ole Miss. On July 30, 2009 he signed a 5-year, $13.8 million contract with the Baltimore Ravens. He started the 2009 season at right tackle, but was moved to left tackle after an injury to line-mate Jared Gaither. In week eight, he returned to right tackle. He currently has a listed height of 6'4" and a listed weight of 310 pounds. His 40 yard dash time is 5.32 seconds.[16] Oher has thus far started every game for the Ravens this season.

[edit] Personal life

Oher was born to Denise Oher, who was addicted to crack cocaine since birth. 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.[4] Oher's estranged father was murdered while Oher was a senior in high school.

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 thought Oher might as well come along. The school's football coach submitted Oher's school application to the headmaster, who agreed if Oher could complete a home study program first. Despite not finishing the program, he was admitted when the headmaster realized he had removed him from the public education system.[4]

Oher was living with several families and a football teammate at Briarcrest for a year and a half or so until Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy, a couple with a daughter and son at Briarcrest, 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.[4] He eventually brought his 0.6 grade point average up to a 2.65 GPA by the end of his senior year so he could attend a Division 1 school.[4]:p. 9

[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 was adapted for film and was directed by John Lee Hancock.[17] It was released on November 20, 2009. The movie stars Quinton Aaron as Michael Oher, alongside Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw.

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://mississippi.scout.com/2/278876.html
  2. ^ http://mississippistate.scout.com/a.z?s=136&p=8&c=1&nid=1259020
  3. ^ He was mainly interested in the University of South Carolina for their unbelievable coaches and rich athletic historyHooker, Dave (2004-11-05). "Ten talented recruits on UT's radar this weekend". The Knoxville News Sentinel. http://www.govolsxtra.com/news/2004/nov/05/ten-talented-recruits-on-uts-radar-this-weekend/?print=1. Retrieved 2009-11-17. 
  4. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Michael (September 24, 2006), "The Ballad of Big Mike", New York Times Magazine, http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/24/magazine/24football.html 
  5. ^ Hooker, Dave (2005-01-17). "Oher's Ole Miss ties may be hard to break". The Knoxville News Sentinel. http://www.govolsxtra.com/news/2005/jan/17/ohers-ole-miss-ties-may-be-hard-to-break. Retrieved 2006-10-04. .
  6. ^ Schad, Joe. "Outside the Lines: Recruiting Ethics". ESPN.com. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/news/story?id=2586464. Retrieved 2006-10-04. 
  7. ^ Willis, Patrick (2006-07-21). "Michael Oher named to Coaches All-SEC Football Team". The Oxford Eagle. http://www.oxfordeagle.com/archives/2006/0706/071706-072106/072106/sports1.html. Retrieved 2006-10-04. 
  8. ^ "2006 SEC Football - Week 5 Game Previews". SECsports.com. 2006-0926. http://www.secsports.com/index.php?url_channel_id=2&url_subchannel_id=&url_article_id=7733&change_well_id=2. 
  9. ^ "Ole Miss LT Oher to enter NFL draft". The Associated Press. 2008-01-14. http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=337437. Retrieved 2008-01-16. 
  10. ^ "Oher Reconsiders, Returns for Senior Season". OleMissSports.com—Official Web Site of University of Mississippi Athletics. 2008-01-16. http://www.olemisssports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=12792&SPID=737&DB_OEM_ID=2600&ATCLID=1369878. Retrieved 2009-11-17. 
  11. ^ "Laurinaitis, Bradford, Crabtree on All-America first team". espn.com. 2008-12-16. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3773686. Retrieved 2009-11-17. 
  12. ^ Bell, Jarret (2009-04-24). "From homeless to the NFL: Oher's journey to draft unique". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/2009-04-23-michael-oher-cover_N.htm. Retrieved 2009-11-20. 
  13. ^ "Perception not always reality for LT Michael Oher". The Associated Press. 2009-04-16. http://www.wibw.com/sports/headlines/43132262.html. Retrieved 2009-11-20. 
  14. ^ Connolly, Dan (2009-11-20). "Coming attraction not a distraction: Michael Oher takes in stride the new movie about his life". The Baltimore Sun. http://www.californiachronicle.com/articles/yb/137793950. Retrieved 2009-11-20. 
  15. ^ BaltimoreRavens.com: Duffy's Draft Day 2 Blog
  16. ^ "Michael Oher". nfl.com. http://www.nfl.com/players/michaeloher/profile?id=OHE567504. Retrieved 2009-11-01. .
  17. ^ "John Lee Hancock to Guard the Blind Side"

[edit] External links

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