Michael Oher (The Blind Side) by HENRY ALFREY https://padlet.com/alfrehen000/fhmg2o7ju0t9 Michael Lewis en-us 2019-11-12 19:34:46 UTC 2020-01-19 08:41:56 UTC hello@padlet.com Bibliography alfrehen000 https://padlet.com/alfrehen000/fhmg2o7ju0t9/wish/427656873 Lewis, Michael. The Blind Side. 2007.]]> 2020-01-05 00:02:56 UTC https://padlet.com/alfrehen000/fhmg2o7ju0t9/wish/427656873 Background: The game of football was introduced in 1920. In Canton, Ohio. In the late seventies and early eighties football began to evolve. Players became bigger, faster, and stronger. Plays became more developed. The game was now a game of size and grit. This lead to Quarterbacks having less time to sit in the pocket and get the ball downfield to the receiver or into the hands of the running back. alfrehen000 https://padlet.com/alfrehen000/fhmg2o7ju0t9/wish/432252477 2020-01-16 05:39:18 UTC https://padlet.com/alfrehen000/fhmg2o7ju0t9/wish/432252477 1) One of the most defining moments in the progression of football was when the legendary defensive end, Lawrence Taylor sacked Joe Theismann. On this play Theismann had a career ending broken leg. Joe was tackled from his "Blind Side" which is the spot where Quarterbacks can't see when they go to throw the ball. Since most quarterbacks are right handed general managers and head coaches started recruiting bigger and stronger Left Tackles. Left Tackles were now getting paid more than the rest of the offensive line because if the left tackle didn't do his job the quarterback could get horribly injured just like Joe Theismann. alfrehen000 https://padlet.com/alfrehen000/fhmg2o7ju0t9/wish/432253088 2020-01-16 05:44:41 UTC https://padlet.com/alfrehen000/fhmg2o7ju0t9/wish/432253088 2) Tom Lemmings was sent a video tape of a high schooler's football highlights. Something made Lemmings look at this one closer than the others. "'The tape was grainy and you couldn't see very well,' said Lemmings" (Lewis 30) The video highlights were of Michael Oher who went to Briarcrest Christian Academy. He was a standout at Briarcrest not only because of his size but because of his color. Michael was African-American at a school the rarely had African-American students. alfrehen000 https://padlet.com/alfrehen000/fhmg2o7ju0t9/wish/432253806 2020-01-16 05:50:24 UTC https://padlet.com/alfrehen000/fhmg2o7ju0t9/wish/432253806 3) Michael Oher didn't have a family. His mother was a drug addict so he was put in foster care but still lived on the streets. Big Tony was trying to enroll 2 kids into Briarcrest Christian Academy. One was Big Tony's son, Steven. The other one was Michael Oher. Michael was taken in by Big Tony because he doesn't have a family. Braircrest was hesitant to accept Oher because of his poor grades. Michael Oher had a 0.6 GPA. But since Briarcrest christian Academy was full of football-loving teachers so they accepted him. alfrehen000 https://padlet.com/alfrehen000/fhmg2o7ju0t9/wish/432540092 2020-01-16 17:25:39 UTC https://padlet.com/alfrehen000/fhmg2o7ju0t9/wish/432540092 4) Michael Oher received special tutoring after school to help get his grades up. At first he wasn't allowed to play sports because of his grades. Michael was quiet and shy so his first couple of weeks were a struggle for him. Sean Tuohy was the basketball coach at Braircrest and took Michael in. Sean Touhy was the owner of Taco Bells in the area and helped Michael get through school. Sean's wife, Leigh Anne, would buy Michael clothes and food and drive him where he needed to be. alfrehen000 https://padlet.com/alfrehen000/fhmg2o7ju0t9/wish/432550809 2020-01-16 17:41:56 UTC https://padlet.com/alfrehen000/fhmg2o7ju0t9/wish/432550809 alfrehen000 https://padlet.com/alfrehen000/fhmg2o7ju0t9/wish/432555791 2020-01-16 17:49:24 UTC https://padlet.com/alfrehen000/fhmg2o7ju0t9/wish/432555791 5) Michael Oher got his grades up just enough to play football and basketball. Every night Michael Oher would go to the inner city to stay with his mom. Leigh Anna Touhy decided to let Michael stay at the Touhy house one night instead of going into the city every night. Michael becomes acquainted with Collins and Sean Junior, the Touhy kids. He becomes best friends with Sean Junior (SJ) who is much younger than Michael. Briarcrest Christian Academy showed much improvement when Michael played football his junior year. alfrehen000 https://padlet.com/alfrehen000/fhmg2o7ju0t9/wish/432556413 2020-01-16 17:50:25 UTC https://padlet.com/alfrehen000/fhmg2o7ju0t9/wish/432556413 6) Michael Oher's senior year at Briarcrest Christian Academy won the state championship in Tennessee. Michael Oher has been showing much improvement throughout the years. Colleges were starting to recruit him. Michael is starting to be known as the best football player in the state. alfrehen000 https://padlet.com/alfrehen000/fhmg2o7ju0t9/wish/432783260 2020-01-17 03:57:03 UTC https://padlet.com/alfrehen000/fhmg2o7ju0t9/wish/432783260 7) Colleges start reaching out to Oher. They tell him that he could be a future NFL star. The colleges could offer him full-ride scholarships. Full-ride offers consisted of housing, books, and tuition. Many colleges were reaching out to him. The top schools in the country were reaching out such as LSU, Alabama, and Clemson. alfrehen000 https://padlet.com/alfrehen000/fhmg2o7ju0t9/wish/432783968 2020-01-17 04:00:47 UTC https://padlet.com/alfrehen000/fhmg2o7ju0t9/wish/432783968 10) Michael Oher began receiving recruiting visits from colleges. Colleges believe that he could be one of the best line man in college football. Every college that talked to him offered him a full ride scholarship. He was turning into a top recruit in the nation because of his size and mobility. alfrehen000 https://padlet.com/alfrehen000/fhmg2o7ju0t9/wish/432785430 2020-01-17 04:10:34 UTC https://padlet.com/alfrehen000/fhmg2o7ju0t9/wish/432785430 12) Michael Oher began to consider his top college coaches. He is leaning toward Ole Miss because the Touhys attended that school also his personal tutor Sue Mitchell attended Mississippi University. Although Oher was leaning toward Ole Miss he was also considering LSU and Tennessee. He wants to play college football but in order to do so he has to get his GPA above the NCAA minimum. alfrehen000 https://padlet.com/alfrehen000/fhmg2o7ju0t9/wish/433222267 2020-01-18 04:50:34 UTC https://padlet.com/alfrehen000/fhmg2o7ju0t9/wish/433222267 13) Sean Junior was helping Michael Oher find a plan to get into college. Michael was working hard to get his grades up in his classes but he just couldn't get it. Sean Junior did his research and found that he could declare Michael Oher as learning disabled. Then he took classes that helped him surpass the NCAA minimum GPA. alfrehen000 https://padlet.com/alfrehen000/fhmg2o7ju0t9/wish/433224356 2020-01-18 05:19:21 UTC https://padlet.com/alfrehen000/fhmg2o7ju0t9/wish/433224356 14) Once Michael gets his grades up he chooses to attend Ole Miss. The football program is under Coach Orgeron. He will be given free room and board. alfrehen000 https://padlet.com/alfrehen000/fhmg2o7ju0t9/wish/433225545 2020-01-18 05:33:47 UTC https://padlet.com/alfrehen000/fhmg2o7ju0t9/wish/433225545 15) Shortly after he arrives at Ole Miss he is put under investigation. One or more people have complained to the NCAA that the Tuohys adopted him and accepted money from Ole Miss, they're Alma Matter, to adopt him and convince him to attend the University of Mississippi. The Tuohys were offended by the accusations but they still cooperated with the NCAA in the investigation. alfrehen000 https://padlet.com/alfrehen000/fhmg2o7ju0t9/wish/433226089 2020-01-18 05:40:54 UTC https://padlet.com/alfrehen000/fhmg2o7ju0t9/wish/433226089 8) Briarcrest Christian Academy isn't used to being a popular sports school that colleges look at for recruiting. Michael Oher was a freak of nature, as some coaches would put it. Even teachers and coaches at Briarcrest were blown away at the abilities and size of Michael Oher. Some of the top college coaches who have played in the NFL say that they have never seen anything like it. "Fulmer watched Michael Oher for half an hour then turned to Long and said, 'He's the best in the nation.'" (Lewis 97) alfrehen000 https://padlet.com/alfrehen000/fhmg2o7ju0t9/wish/433303727 2020-01-18 20:53:15 UTC https://padlet.com/alfrehen000/fhmg2o7ju0t9/wish/433303727 9) Michael Oher improved a lot in his Junior season. To start his junior season he was really just bigger and stronger than most of the other players which proved his dominance. At the end of the Junior year he was getting the hang of holding his blocks and getting the rules of the game mastered. "..said Crone. 'How to move his feet, where to put his hands. How to get on people so they couldn't get away.'" (Lewis 94) alfrehen000 https://padlet.com/alfrehen000/fhmg2o7ju0t9/wish/433305055 2020-01-18 21:07:08 UTC https://padlet.com/alfrehen000/fhmg2o7ju0t9/wish/433305055 11) Michael Oher was so good going into his senior year that he was selected to the pre-season First Team All-American. "Michael Oher became a preseason First Team High School All American." (Lewis 97) alfrehen000 https://padlet.com/alfrehen000/fhmg2o7ju0t9/wish/433363442 2020-01-19 07:56:45 UTC https://padlet.com/alfrehen000/fhmg2o7ju0t9/wish/433363442 16)The passing game in the NFL began to boom in the late 80s and early 90s. In 1978 NFL linemen were finally able to use they're hands to block. With the boom in the passing game linemen were under much more pressure. "In 1978, NFL linemen were permitted, for the first time in history, to use their hands when they blocked." (Lewis 116) alfrehen000 https://padlet.com/alfrehen000/fhmg2o7ju0t9/wish/433363963 2020-01-19 08:04:08 UTC https://padlet.com/alfrehen000/fhmg2o7ju0t9/wish/433363963 17) Michael was getting accustomed to going to many many football camps. He would attend camps for top prospects at LSU, University of Oklahoma, North Carolina State. Many division 1 colleges were looking at Michael to attend their camps but Michael had to turn them down. "...turned down invitations to summer at another fifty or so Division 1 football programs." (Lewis 131) alfrehen000 https://padlet.com/alfrehen000/fhmg2o7ju0t9/wish/433364365 2020-01-19 08:09:52 UTC https://padlet.com/alfrehen000/fhmg2o7ju0t9/wish/433364365 18) Michael Oher was the biggest player most people had ever seen play football that well. At a national standard he was a physical oddity. Michael had a 50 inch waits and a 32 inch inseam. "His teammates and coaches now understood that Michael Oher, even by national football standards, was a physical oddity." (Lewis 134) alfrehen000 https://padlet.com/alfrehen000/fhmg2o7ju0t9/wish/433364933 2020-01-19 08:17:44 UTC https://padlet.com/alfrehen000/fhmg2o7ju0t9/wish/433364933 19) No one in Michael Oher's family had received a drivers license. Leigh Anne helped Michael become the first one to do so. They had to go through hoops to be able to get the drivers license. To do this Michael had to go to his moms house to pick up a letter addressed to him so he could have proof of residency. Michael did not say a work when he saw his mom even when she draped her arms around him he didn't say a word. Michael was ecstatic that he passes his driving test and became the first one in his family to do so. alfrehen000 https://padlet.com/alfrehen000/fhmg2o7ju0t9/wish/433365212 2020-01-19 08:22:19 UTC https://padlet.com/alfrehen000/fhmg2o7ju0t9/wish/433365212 20) Michael Oher went on to have a very successful career in college. He dominated the competition at Ole Miss and was now being looked at by NFL scouts. Michael Oher was then drafted in the first round by the Baltimore Ravens with the 23rd pick of the draft. Linemen don't usually go in the fist round so it was an accomplishment for Michael to go in the 1st round. He eventually won a Super Bowl with the Ravens and had a very successful NFL career alfrehen000 https://padlet.com/alfrehen000/fhmg2o7ju0t9/wish/433366317 2020-01-19 08:37:32 UTC https://padlet.com/alfrehen000/fhmg2o7ju0t9/wish/433366317 alfrehen000 https://padlet.com/alfrehen000/fhmg2o7ju0t9/wish/433366600 2020-01-19 08:41:35 UTC https://padlet.com/alfrehen000/fhmg2o7ju0t9/wish/433366600 alfrehen000 https://padlet.com/alfrehen000/fhmg2o7ju0t9/wish/433366631 2020-01-19 08:41:56 UTC https://padlet.com/alfrehen000/fhmg2o7ju0t9/wish/433366631