Michael Oher

High school

Briarcrest Christian School

College

University of Mississippi

Pro team(s)

Baltimore Ravens, Tennessee Titans, Carolina Panthers

Michael Jerome Oher was born on May 28, 1986, in Memphis, Tennessee, and grew up in the Hurt Village housing project in North Memphis, the son of a mother struggling with addiction. After years in foster care and on the streets, he was taken in by the Tuohy family and enrolled at Briarcrest Christian School in Memphis, where his extraordinary size (6-foot-4, 309 pounds as a teenager) and athleticism drew immediate attention from college football recruiters. His story — a homeless teenager who became an NFL first-round draft pick — was told in Michael Lewis's 2006 book "The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game" and the 2009 Academy Award-winning film of the same name, which became one of the most widely seen sports films in history. Oher attended the University of Mississippi and was selected 23rd overall by the Baltimore Ravens in the 2009 NFL Draft. He was a key member of the Ravens' Super Bowl XLVII championship team in February 2013. He played nine NFL seasons across three franchises. His story remains one of the most remarkable in American sports history — complex, inspiring, and deeply tied to the city of Memphis. Born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee.