The story of one Michael Oher is truly a fascinating one. It centers around a young boy lost in a big world and one who had no real purpose in life. It is also a story of how an unknown family of four took him under their wings and completely turned his life around for the better. Michael’s story is such an emotionally touching one that there has been a book (The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game) as well as a movie (The Blind Side) based on it.
What happened to Michael Oher and the Tuohy family?
Prior to becoming a professional football player, Oher had a tumultuous life. He was born into a huge family consisting of twelve children all to his mother Denise Oher. His mother was a suffering alcoholic and drug addict who couldn’t keep things together. His father on the other hand, Michael Jerome Williams, spent most of his time in prison and was never around much. In his senior year of high school, Oher’s father was murdered in prison. As a result, Michael and his siblings never received proper attention and lacked basic discipline in life.
Bouncing from one foster care family to another, being homeless on numerous occasions from the young age of seven years old, he repeated grades 1 and 2 and changed around eleven schools in nine years. Things began to change slowly for Oher when he started attending Briarcrest High School in Tennessee. In 2003, playing for the school’s football team, he was doing well as an offensive lineman but was still living with several foster families.
Then came 2004, and a sweet couple, Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy, who had two kids in the same school came to his rescue. The Tuohy’s took Oher with them, let him live with them and looked after him as their own child, and even formally adopted him in the near future. The Tuohy’s hired personal tutors for him to improve his low GPA scores and also did everything possible to help him on the football field. This selfless act by a Godsend family completely changed the outcome of what could otherwise have been a wasted life out on the streets.
Being thankful and never forgetting everything that the family gave Oher, he has repaid their efforts in more than one way. As a matter of fact, even after nearly two decades of knowing the family and after retiring from the NFL, Michael Oher continues to help and work with the Tuohy’s for their charity ‘Making It Happen Foundation’ which looks out for impoverished children.
Michael Oher’s NFL career
Coming out of college from the University of Mississippi, Oher was seen as a potential first round draft pick. Initially while playing for Ole Miss, Oher was given the position of guard but was then switched to left tackle in his sophomore year.
In the 2009 NFL Draft, the Baltimore Ravens selected Michael with their first-round pick and was inserted into the lineup as a right tackle. Oher was equally adept at playing both the right tackle as well as the left tackle positions. Doing an amazing job as a right tackle for the most part of his rookie year, he finished second in the Offensive Rookie of the Year category. Oher finished his five years with the Ravens in 2013 by playing in and winning Super Bowl XLVII as the Ravens beat the San Francisco 49ers 34-31.
Post his 2013 campaign with the Ravens, Oher signed with the Tennessee Titans but had limited success as he was injured after just 11 games. At the end of the 2014 season, he was released by the Titans and went on to sign with the Carolina Panthers citing quarterback Cam Newton to be a big influencing factor in his decision.
He had one of his best years in the game in 2015 where he played as the left tackle and protected Newton’s blind side very well allowing only four sacks all year long. The Panthers made the Super Bowl that year, but unfortunately, they were no match for the Peyton Manning-led Denver Broncos who defeated them 24-10. Things, however, did not go as per plan as in 2016 Oher was limited to just three games due to injuries and failed physicals. He was let go by the Panthers in July 2017 bringing an end to his professional playing career after just eight seasons.
Looking back at this remarkable journey just goes to show how much humanity is still a part of this chaotic world and how important it is. One family was able to touch one individual who came into their lives by chance but they took him in, nurtured and cared for him, made him successful in life, and are now helping each other look after more such individuals. Truly an inspiration and one story that deserved to be told.
FAQs
A. Michael Oher was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens and played for five years with them, then played briefly with the Tennessee Titans and the Carolina Panthers.
A. Michael Oher has played mostly as a right tackle and at times as a left tackle.
A. The Tuohy family was the one who took Michael in their home when he was mostly homeless or bouncing around with foster families. They adopted him and turned his life around enabling him to make a career out of professional football.
Michael Oher played his last game in 2016 and was released by the Panthers in June 2017 after which he did not play in the NFL again.
A. The book, The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game written by Michael Lewis features Michael Oher as one of his subjects. The Blind Side movie is also based on Oher and his life until he made it as a professional NFL player.
