Name to watch for in 2009 NFL draft Michael Oher

[Russ Smith]

Fascinating story I found out about yesterday. Kid is a LT at Ole Miss he actually declared this year but pulled out within 4 days to return to school. He was projected as a borderline first rounder 08 now projected mid to high first round 09.

There's a 2006 book called Blind Side by Michael Lewis(guy who wrote Moneyball) that details the "making" of Michael Oher it really reminds me of Eric Swann's story.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/24/m...90&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&pagewanted=all

That link is an NY Times story with a long excerpt from the book. Oher's dad was murdered, shot and thrown off a bridge, his mom is a crack addict. He was held back in first and second grade (Memphis) and then passed along all through 9th grade when someone finally noticed this kid is huge but he's a functional illiterate(had a IQ of 80) he needs some help.

There's a very long story of how he got into college and it pretty clearly points out that there was a lot of rules bent or broken to get him there(Ole Miss hired his HS coach, he used online courses to replace like 10 F's he received to inflate his GPA to qualify etc. But it's a fascinating story I am
going to buy the book now and I have to admit even though it's quite clear a lot of rules were broken to get him into Ole Miss, it's a really cool story the kid pulled out of the draft because he wanted to get his degree after everything he'd been through.

Also Tom Lemming a well known talent scout said when he saw Oher play in HS there's only one player that comes to mind as a comparison, Orlando Pace.

 

[DaisyCutter]

Russ, the book is an incredible read. I highly reccommend it. Oher is a great prospect to keep an eye on in 2008.

 

[SuperSpck]

http://www.arizonasportsfans.com/vb/f4/draft-thread-michael-oher-105080.html?highlight=oher

 

[jw7]

Russ, the book is an incredible read. I highly reccommend it. Oher is a great prospect to keep an eye on in 2008.

Yes, get the book and read it. It is really good.

There are a few posts about Oher/Blind Side on here. Amazing story.

 

[Russ Smith]

http://www.arizonasportsfans.com/vb/f4/draft-thread-michael-oher-105080.html?highlight=oher

Thanks I never saw that thread before. I actually happened upon him by mistake I was talking to someone about the ridiculous way USC basketball recruit Demar Derozan qualified(got 4 A's and a B in BYU courses to qualify for SC while still in HS with a sub 2.0 GPA). He said you should read this book the Blind Side talks all about those BYU courses and then I googled and found the NY Times story on Oher. Already ordered the book sounds like a fascinating read.

 

[Lefty]

Russ, the book is an incredible read. I highly reccommend it. Oher is a great prospect to keep an eye on in 2008.

It is a great read. I read it earlier this year and it's amazing what he went through, from a little kid to now. I was also shocked about how he was able to get his gpa up by taking those internet classes through BYU.

 

[SuperSpck]

In the new Sporting News preview it talked about the highly toted Oher and how the book (despite being a good read) highlighted a possible learning disability, because of that the book was a pretty terrible thing to happen to him professionally.

 

[cgolden]

He'll be a top 10 pick by April 2009. I really hope that they don't have any chance at getting him.

 

[Russ Smith]

In the new Sporting News preview it talked about the highly toted Oher and how the book (despite being a good read) highlighted a possible learning disability, because of that the book was a pretty terrible thing to happen to him professionally.

You mean they think he'll get drafted later because teams think he has a learning disability that will hurt him on the field?

I wonder how many plays a LT really has to know anything beyond it's a pass keep the DE off the QB, it's a run pull left or pull right? I expect there's a lot more to it than that but I think C is the position that takes the most smarts on the OL.

 

[DaisyCutter]

In the new Sporting News preview it talked about the highly toted Oher and how the book (despite being a good read) highlighted a possible learning disability, because of that the book was a pretty terrible thing to happen to him professionally.

All the top picks are interviewed and have deep background checks, anyway. If his crackhead mother or dead father didn't cause scouts to dig deeper, the fact that he had to take 12 correspondence BYU classes would have.

It would have been found out. The fact that he's remained eligible I think says enough. It's not like he's a quarterback or a position player with 15-25 adjustments and reads to make on nearly every play.

 

[Savage58]

Great story, but he looks like an NFL guard to me. I hope he succeeds!

 

[DaisyCutter]

Great story, but he looks like an NFL guard to me. I hope he succeeds!

The thing about him is his athleticism for his size. He has great speed and feet. At least, that's what they said in The Blind Side.