Roy Upchurch--Maturity and Guts.

by gorjus on Oct 2, 2008 1:07 PM CDT

Lots of folks have been talking about the phenomenal recent performances of Roy Upchurch, our tough Junior running back. I think we can all agree that redshirting Roy back in 2005 was the perfect decision by Coach Shula, as he has matured into a sturdy mainstay of this powerful Tide team. I was punching the air just last Saturday, yelling "ROY! ROY!" as he barreled up the field against Georgia, glad that he has become who he is.

I've been thinking about the guts he has on the field, and started looking a bit into his past. His official profile notes that Roy:

". . . spent his last three Christmas holiday seasons collecting donations from local businesses for local senior citizens. Donations have included blankets, space heaters, household items, gift cards and non-perishable food items.

"Upchurch continues this tradition in honor of his late grandmother, Gladys Garner, whom he took care of for 18 months before she passed away in 2001."

Roy was only born in '85--that means he was taking care of his grandmother when he was just fifteen.

Roy Upchurch shows a lot of guts on the field, but after you look into his past, that's no surprise at all. He was a man before he ever put on that Crimson number 5.

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Good post, but...

Just one note…

Shula did not opt to redshirt Upchurch in 2005. It seemed that he would play as a true freshman then, but he had a serious ankle injury in fall camp that resulted him missing the season. The exact same thing, in the other ankle, happened again the following year. Again, Shula never made the decision, per se, to redshirt Upchurch because he never had the option of not doing so. The injury precluded him from allowing him to play, and honestly had he stayed healthy, he would have played.

by outsidethesidelines on Oct 2, 2008 1:35 PM CDT reply actions

Thanks, OTS!

OTS, thanks so much for the clarification. I certainly didn’t remember that and was trying to be a bit generous with our former coach . . . and that was misplaced!

Never quit. It is the easiest cop-out in the world.

by gorjus on Oct 2, 2008 2:06 PM CDT up reply actions

Roy

Roy is an awesome kid. I coach high school ball in Florida and my head coach had the pleasure of coaching roy when he was at Godby. I had the pleasure of meeting Roy and Glenn Coffee a couple of years ago and they are both stand up young men. I hope that Roy gets his chance cause he averaged 250 yds a game in high school. So Good Luck to Roy.

by Extreme Bama Fan on Oct 2, 2008 2:28 PM CDT reply actions