It's been a long, potholed road for Sammie Stroughter, but after the spending the better part of a year on the sidelines, he's back for his senior year at Oregon State with full spirits. Sammie has recently come out with details about what caused him to leave OSU's camp last August, and how he's moved on. Daily Barometer Sports Editor Lindsey Schnell was quick to pick up the story, and was published on Sports Illustrated.com last week:
I definitely recommend you read the whole article, but here is a taste:
Sammie Stroughter crouched down and waited, before popping up and skipping down the sideline, whooping, hollering and slapping high-fives with teammates. "I see you, I see you boy!" the Oregon State senior receiver crowed to safety James Dockery, who had just grabbed an interception. He ran up and thumped Dockery in the chest, all while talking a little trash to the defense. Coaches, players a fans at Oregon State's spring game on May 3 looked at each other and shook their heads, smiling. Their expressions all said the same thing: Thank goodness Stroughter is back.
A year ago Stroughter slipped slowly into a world of isolation and depression, racked by guilt, self-doubt and loneliness. That energetic, boisterous receiver with the infectious smile who became the poster boy for Oregon State football almost overnight was gone. In his place was a quiet, introverted Sammie, one who didn't smile or talk and didn't look like he wanted any part of football.
"What's wrong with Sammie?" everyone wanted to know. People would bug him, stare at him and whisper about him like he wasn't standing right there. "Sammie, what's wrong with you?" people asked over and over again. God, he was so sick of the questions, especially that one.
But through his depression, the one person allowed to ask Sammie that question was Eric Blair, his older brother by eight years. From the beginning, Eric had always been the one Sammie could talk to, and in the end, it was Eric's support that mattered most. For Eric had been through it himself.
Again, I encourage you to read the entire article by clicking here. It's definitely worth the ten minutes.
GO BEAVERS!
--JB--