Our Honor Defend

After a long, drawn out evaluation process¹ , I think we all agree that Nader Abdallah is the only appropriate recipient of the inaugural Brian D. Baschnagel Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Facial Hair.  Basically, Nader Abdallah most exemplified the necessary Baschnagelian qualities of on-field performance, off-field performance and a commitment to the facial hair that has become so deeply ingrained in the fabled lore of The Ohio State University Buckeyes.

Admittedly, Abdallah’s facial hair was a little blasé (usually a tightly cut and trimmed beard), but Abdallah was one of those really cool, rewarding stories that, regrettably, no one will ever talk about in terms of college football fluff stories.  A few articles may be lost from the interwebs due to the passage of time, but here’s a whole host of things to consider about Abdallah, taken from the always helpful BuckeyePlanet:

• During his recruiting process, Abdallah purposely eschewed any recruiting tactics that promoted fun, parent-free atmospheres.  Indeed, what drew him to Ohio State was the explicit family nature of the football program and the emphasis afforded to spiritual development and academics.
• Abdallah’s father, Younes, spent most of his childhood in refugee camps, eventually immigrating to the United States after Israel wrested the West Bank away from Jordan.  All politics on this controversial issue aside, Abdallah’s family is truly a rags-to-riches type of story and the industriousness of his family should be praised accordingly.
• Unbeknownst to me before the start of the 2008 season, but Nader is the only Palestinian to play major college football.  He apparently has quite a following back in the Middle East.  He’s also been profiled by a few media outlets catering to the Arab-American community.
• However, that label carried quite a burden for Nader as he became an unwitting spokesperson for Palestinians in the United States.  Given subtle prejudices that operate at all levels of American society, Nader was very much aware that any personal screw-up (be it a public skirmish, a DUI, or whatever it is that most college athletes do to get noriety) would unfortunately be associated with Palestinians writ large.  You never heard a bad press report on Nader’s behavior accordingly.
• You can read more of Nader’s story during his first year at Ohio State here.
• Hurricane Katrina hit particularly hard for Nader, as a few members of his family stayed behind in the wake of the hurricane.
• The story provided by one of Nader’s brothers, who stayed behind in New Orleans to try to save the family store, was particularly grim.

Abdallah’s family evacuated the day before Katrina hit. Nader’s brother, Wesam, stayed behind to try and save the store, nearly drowning for his efforts.

Holed up in the attic, he passed out from fumes and fatigue. He woke up when a pigeon came in through a hole in the attic and whacked him in the head with his flapping wings. Because looters were shooting at him, thinking he had cash, Wesam waited until nightfall before swimming among dead bodies to safety.

• Sadly, so much of the family’s life was devastated by Hurricane Katrina.  Most of the family got out of New Orleans at the last minute, staying in Houston for a while before relocating to Columbus temporarily.  Sadly, the family store in the Magnolia Projects area — the little slice of the American dream that Younes created when he first moved to New Orleans in the early 1980s — was completely destroyed by the hurricane.  The hurricane took care of most of the store while looters ransacked what was left.  The loss was particularly devastating for Younes, who was born a refugee and became, after Katrina, a refugee again.  It may be seen as a sad ending to a promising fulfillment of the American dream, but Nader’s parents relocated back to the West Bank.  They are now safely living in El Birah, near the heart of West Bank in Ramallah.  That town is a sister city of Youngstown, Ohio.

• In spite of the obvious time difference between West Bank and the Midwest, Nader’s father doesn’t miss a game on satellite… even if it means staying up to 3 in the morning to do it.
• The affair took its toll on Nader as well.  After the 2006 season, Nader was so consumed with the aftermath that he had become a sparsely used reserve and ballooned in weight.  Starting with the offseason after the 2006 season, Nader worked extra hard to get back into shape.  The effort started with the necessary diet arrangements and a workout regimen that had him starting every day at 6 AM.  He dropped the 50 pounds he acquired and entered the 2007 season a new man.  His brother, who he is very close to, moved in with him and helped him get back on track.  He made his first start against Minnesota in the 2007 season.
• As an observant Muslim, Abdallah faithfully fasts during Ramadan.  As you can imagine, it’s not easy and it takes a lot of self-discipline to observe that (as best as he is able) and play football at a high level.
• Abdallah took an outstanding 21 credits during the fall quarter in 2008.  This seems taxing by itself, but doubly so when football season is considered.  In spite of that, Abdallah thrived in the second half of the season.
• Moreover, Abdallah incorporated some of his own spirituality, by way of some hadiths, into the production of Jim Tressel’s Winner’s Manual.

Detailing his extracurricular attributes may be construed as a means of hiding suboptimal on-field performance.  However, Abdallah — if anyone — was probably the MVP of that unit in 2008.

• He finished the season third on the team in TFLs, and, believe it or not, tied for third on the team in pass breakups.  He was third only to two defensive backs, Malcolm Jenkins (naturally) and Kurt Coleman.
• Purdue was probably his breakout game, in spite of the relative lack of statistics gathered.  His lone sack in that game was crucial.
• His best game this season was his 8 tackle (3 solo) performance against Northwestern.  Therein, he also had 2 pass deflections.
• Nader was named the Attack Force Player of the Week for his performance against Youngstown State and also for Wisconsin.
• Lastly, Abdallah finished his senior season winning the Jack Stephenson Award for best defensive lineman in 2008.  A fitting finale for a much improved line of play for his final 2 years at Ohio State.

Therefore, perhaps winning this totally Photoshopped award may be just another accolade for a very deserving young man.  Basically, in the view of anyone who would talk to me about it, he was the team MVP, weighted proportionately by facial hair.  I can’t stress this enough: Nader Abdallah is one of the most rewarding stories in college football that curiously no one — outside of some local media outlets here and there and the specialized Arab-American media outlets — seriously acknowledges.

A final thought comes to mind regarding Nader Abdallah.  For Buckeye fans my age (perhaps a little older), I don’t think any of us will confuse Nader Abdallah for Dan Wilkinson or Mike Vrabel.  I’m not sure of what his staying power in the NFL might be, though I’m certainly hopeful he’ll stick somewhere.  After all, NFL coaches tend to start from the drawing board with all recruits, as they try to reprogram everyone.  Perhaps in such a situation, Nader Abdallah will shine.  I don’t know, but I’ll be pulling for him.

Let us presume for the moment that Abdallah doesn’t stay long in the NFL.  Sometime, 20 or so years from now, when Abdallah has used his own devices and Ohio State alumni connections to establish himself as a community leader and role model for Arab-Americans either in the community, or America at large, I think we’ll all be grateful that he got his degree in Family Resource Management from THE Ohio State University.  I know we’ll be proud.  I can only hope Abdallah had no personal regrets for his time spent at the university we all hold dear.

Of course, I would invite Nader to give a speech on receiving such a prestigious Photoshopped award, but I can’t imagine he’d be interested.

One last thought to every other Buckeye currently on roster: Remember, this isn’t Menudo, this is THE Ohio State University.  Grow a damn mustache already.

Elsewhere

• New YouTube Drive-Thru is up featuring the 1998 matchup between the Missouri Tigers and Ohio State Buckeyes.  It was the return leg in Columbus of the 1997 game played between the two.  Yes, the same game where Andy Katzenmoyer nearly killed Corby Jones.  Katzenmoyer was rather quiet in this go-around.  Michael Wiley, however, was not.  He finished with a career best 209 yards on 24 carries.  You can watch the video at the end of this list.
• Tajh Boyd, Army All-American Bowl MVP, is set to announce his pick… and many insiders think he’s going to Ohio State.  Nothing is set in stone in this wild world of recruiting, but put your beers on ice just in case.
• James Jackson, 2009 commit from Grand Ledge, Michigan, found out he has enough credits to graduate early.  After filing the necessary petition, he was granted permission to graduate early and join Jamie Wood and CJ Barnett in Columbus in time for the Spring Game.  Darrell Hazell seems to think he could start in 2009.  This effectively kills the “Jackson to UCLA” rumours that proved to die hard for the past couple months.
• Tim May talks about Ohio State recruiting in Georgia.  Basically, it’s Florida-caliber talent without all the hell you’d have to go through to pluck them from everyone else in the southeast.  Georgia is about as fertile, but much easier.

1. I know… I know… [↩]