The Man From Eufala: Courtney Upshaw
There’s a part of Alabama linebacker Courtney Upshaw that Crimson Tide fans almost never saw, unless they’re from his hometown Eufaula.
Even though the city of 14,000 was in the state, it wasn’t exactly considered Crimson Tide territory when he was being recruited. Bordering Georgia and pretty much behind enemy lines due to its proximity to rival Auburn, Crimson Tide players from there had been pretty rare, like Paul Trodd (kicker, 1981-83), Jug Jenkins (end, 1949-51) and William Hoadley Merrill (guard, 1910).
Even when in Tuscaloosa, Upshaw regularly visited, and not just his Aunt Donnella Williams, who took in him at age seven along with his brother.
There were the McKenzies, Leigh and Tom, along with their son Will, whom Upshaw met in kindergarten, essentially his second family. The Haygoods helped him buckle down academically so he could qualify for his scholarship.
The schools where he attended classes, yes, he dropped by them too.
“When I go home I try and spend time with kids,” Upshaw explained in 2011. “If school is in, I’ll go to the elementary school. Go out to the high school and say hey to the people who taught me and what-not, the principal, those who lent a hand to me getting into college, my passing and tutoring me on the grad exam.
“Just because of the way I grew up. I didn’t really have a role model, to be honest. When I grew up I really didn’t just have anyone to help me.”
It was with this backdrop that Upshaw found himself home the day after the April 27, 2011 tornado ripped through Tuscaloosa, and like so many others wanted to do something to help. Because of the connections developed through the years, he asked about what could be done within the NCAA-rule boundaries, and they turned to out to be the right people.
With the help of Circuit Judge Burt Smithart and other Eufaula residents, Upshaw set up “The 41 Fund” to aid victims of the disaster. To help fund it, autograph sessions with all of the proceeds geared for the foundation were green-lighted through the Alabama compliance department.
Even he was surprised by the response. The lines were huge and others contributed to help raise thousands, with three U-Haul trucks full of relief items quickly sent to Tuscaloosa.
“I knew I would raise some money, but I didn’t think I would raise that much,” Upshaw said. “It was a bunch of people. I thought it was just going to be ’Bama fans, doing that in my hometown full of Auburn people, but a lot of people showed up.”
More than that, Eufaula took an immense amount of pride in its crimson-wearing son, the kind in which people asked to have their babies photographed with him. The public court records website boasted: “The town plays home for a few well know people like Martha Reeves, the lead singer of the American Motown group Martha & the Vandellas, Lula Mae Hardaway, mother of Stevie Wonder, and Courtney Upshaw, linebacker for the University of Alabama football team.”
Upshaw just hoped to have a season worthy of that kind of praise, and maybe propel himself into a top pick in the NFL draft. Despite being hobbled by a high-ankle sprain that that kept him from pushing off or getting a good jump with the snap, he still developed into Alabama’s best pass rusher in 2010.
Upshaw notched 10 tackles, three sacks and two forced fumbles against Auburn, and was just as potent against Michigan State in the Capital One Bowl. Earlier in the season he was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Week against Florida (seven tackles, four for a loss, one forced fumble and two passes broken up), when his mom, who had recently re-entered his life, saw him play for the first time with Alabama.
We’re guessing that she was impressed. His teammates certainly were.
“Can I say the four-letter word?” sophomore tight end Michael Williams said about continually trying to stop No. 41 in practice. “Every day that’s how it is.”
“It’s not pretty,” junior running back Trent Richardson said about trying to pick Upshaw up on a blitz. “He’s one of the strongest and biggest guys you’ll ever find on a football field, and he’s pretty fast, too. When I look at him and know he’s blitzing, I’m like, ‘Maaaaannn.’ You can’t cut in practice, so I’ve got to go toe-to-toe with him. We’re about the same in strength, but that body he’s got is something else.”
“It’s a challenge,” junior offensive lineman Barrett Jones summarized. “The best rushers in any league are guys who can beat you with speed and power. The thing about Courtney is he is the perfect hybrid of speed and power. He’s so fast off the edge and he can beat you with a speed rush. But the second you kind of soft set him so you set back and handle that speed rush, he’ll just run right over you. So he really is an extremely difficult guy to block.:
ESPN.com rated him the 10th-best player in the SEC heading into the 2011 season. In media balloting for preseason All-SEC honors only four other defensive players received more votes (three of whom were teammates: linebacker Dont’a Hightower, safety Mark Barron and nose tackle Josh Chapman), and just 11 overall.
“I don’t see a way to block him,” Hightower said. “You slide him or you double-team him, but he’ll find a way to get to the ball.”
See also: 51-60, O.J. Howard was Mr. Clutch in CFP Title Games
Next up: 41-45
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Publish date : 2024-06-24 17:17:17
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