My real role model

April 13, 2013

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By WHITNEY LETMAN – Web Writer

“RUN TAJ RUN!” One of my fondest memories is watching my brother Taj play football on those hot Friday nights. I cheered him on from pee wee football to high school football thinking, “wow, he is the greatest.”

I remember him playing high school football more than anything. Crowds roaring with excitement, Taj anticipating the running backs movement, “He’s at 50, the 30, smack”, Taj sacks him, makes him fumble the ball and the ball is his.

As soon as he was done pulverizing his competition he would let loose a victorious smile just to show the opposing team that they were on his field. He finished his senior year with nine games under his belt and 36 tackles, and these were only the least of his accomplishments.

He was offered a scholarship to Holmes Community College in Mississippi during his senior year of high school. At only 17, Taj was going to play college ball. After dropping him off at his college dorm, I cried the whole trip back. I remember telling my dad that the best part of me was leaving. I assumed I’d be crying on his graduation day, not the day he was going to college.

There was a gut-wrenching feeling in the pit of my stomach because my brother and I had never been apart from each other for more than three days at a time. After a while, I knew he was doing the best thing for himself and I was being selfish to act the way I was.

During Taj’s Freshman year at college he had 59 tackles and 10 pass break ups. That accomplishment got him offers from big time schools such as the University of Georgia, Baylor University, the University of Nebraska and Purdue University. Taj was ranked the No. 74 overall juco prospect and the No. 4 juco safety prospect in America.

The beginning of Taj’s sophomore year in college, he injured his finger at the first practice of the season. He called my mom that day and I had never heard him so upset. I had only seen Taj upset a few times before this.

It was such a traumatic time in his life. Being so far away from home, Taj was unable to be with family. He became homesick and wanted to come home. The only thing that kept him there was that he never wanted to see my mother struggle. He knew in his heart if he worked hard on his football career he would never have to see our mother struggle again.

Taj was left with a decision to make, probably the biggest one in his life. He had to choose between having surgery on the torn tendon in his finger or playing with an injured finger, risking his football career.

Taj chose to have surgery, which ended the season of his sophomore year in college. Later during Taj’s sophomore year, Marshall University, the same college that produced talented athletes like Randy Moss, offered Taj a full scholarship to play football the following year.

Taj realized that Marshall would be the best choice for him and he accepted the challenge. That summer, my brother signed to Marshall with a smile of accomplishment on his face. In my eyes, my brother had overcome obstacles that made him stronger.

His first practice was April 1 and his first game as a Thunder Herd is right around the corner. This fall, I will be looking from the sideline once again thinking, “wow my brother is the best, not only as my brother, but as person who has been my hero all my life.”

David Ragsdale

David A. Ragsdale (UGA B.S.Ed. ’01, M.Ed. ’03, Ed.S. '09), CJE, has advised student publications since 2001 at Clarke Central H.S. in Athens, Ga., where his duties include advising the ODYSSEY Media Group and Iliad literary-art magazine. Additionally, he serves as Co-Department Chair of the English department at CCHS, coordinates student internships with the University of Georgia, serves as Gifted Coordinator and teaches English at the Title I school. He spends summers teaching at the Georgia Governor's Honors Program for the state's top gifted and talented students or on the faculty of journalism workshops across the Southeast. Ragsdale received the Crystal Apple Award, an honor given to University of Georgia alumni in K-12 education who have made a significant impact on student, school or school district performance in 2007. Ragsdale was the GSPA Adviser of the Year in 2007 and 2020. He was named an ASNE Reynolds High School Journalism Fellow in 2014, an Elizabeth Dickey Distinguished Service Award recipient by the Southern Interscholastic Press Association in 2015, named a Columbia Scholastic Press Association Distinguished Adviser in 2019 and the Journalism Teacher of the Year in 2022. Ragsdale and his staff have twice been recognized for their commitment to Diversity by the Journalism Education Association (2020-21 and 2021-22). He received the Leslie Dennis Heart for Diversity Award from SIPA in 2024 and he’s been commended by the JEA Board of Directors for his work for the organization. He served on UGA’s College of Education’s Alumni Board and on the Georgia Scholastic Press Association Advisory Board for several years, and currently serves on the National Council of Teachers of English’s REALM committee, as the Journalism Education Association’s State Director for Georgia, and as the Southern Interscholastic Press Association’s Executive Chair. Ragsdale will facilitate the JEA Outreach Academy at fall conventions. Ragsdale advocates a stance of student inquiry in his work and seeks to provide a safe place for students to not only succeed but also to fail. He seeks to empower students to recognize the implicit and explicit import of their words and to engage them in masterful storytelling. His students have received top honors in critiques and competitions across the country.