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Jeff Okudah's letter to his mom


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He played for Ohio State, but he's still a Texan.


Jeff Okudah
THE OHIO STATE BUCKEYES
JAN 1 2020
Dear Mom,

I’m going to start by telling you something you already know: I miss you.

Now I’m going to tell you something nobody’s known until right at this moment: I’m officially declaring for the NFL draft.

I’m 20 years old, if you can believe it — which means it’s been almost three full years since the two most important things in my life happened. First, in January of 2017, I enrolled early at the Ohio State University. And then second, later that same month, you lost your long battle with lymphoma.

You passed away.

It’s hard to put into words, everything that’s happened since then. But certain memories have a way of standing out.

I remember when Coach Schiano brought me into his office and told me you’d passed. And I could tell right away from that meeting — how he spoke to me, how he comforted me — that he wasn’t just doing his job. Coach was there for me, really there for me, as a father figure. He knew I was a long way from home in Texas….. and he did everything he could to let me know that, while Ohio State might not feel like home yet, it was a place that I could count on. It was a place where I could show my emotions, and that would be O.K. It was a place where I could grieve, however I needed to, and no one would judge me. It was a place where everyone would have my back.

 

https://www.theplayerstribune.com/en-us/articles/jeff-okudah-ohio-state-football

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