It’s all somewhat funny to Walter Highsmith how Michael Strahan first came into his recruiting orbit at Texas Southern in the late 1980s.
He received a phone call from his good friend and former New York Giants teammate, Art Strahan, who told him about his nephew who had moved back to Houston from Germany and could play. That and measurements of the kid who had played only one season of football at HISD’s Westbury High School were all Highsmith needed to hear to start envisioning the young Strahan as a future tight end for the Tigers.
“One thing people don’t understand, everything a kid do is the way he was raised. He had a good upbringing. It’s just things that happen.”
Walter Highsmith, Former TSU head football coach
“He had the size at 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds so he could always develop,” Highsmith recalled recently. “But I liked him because his uncle called me and said, `Coach, I have a hell of a football player over here you ought to see. He’s my nephew.’
“I said, `Don’t worry, I will take him.’”
Highsmith had no idea what he was taking on, but he soon found out. The only thing left was for defensive coordinator C.L. Whittington to convince the offensive staff that Strahan was better suited for his side of the ball at defensive end.
From there it didn’t take long before Highsmith and his staff knew what they had on their hands, and that was one of the hardest working, most motivated and prolific defensive end prospects in the game.
Strahan, who starred for the Tigers from 1989-1992, ascended to be an elite sack specialist who established school records, earned All-American recognition, and reigned as the SWAC’s most elite defensive player his junior and senior years.
Of course, that was only the beginning.
Strahan and his famous gap-tooth smile then took his act to the NFL and the New York Giants where he became a larger-than-life figure who impressed with his personality and dominance as a pass rush specialist. He has continued to impress as the co-anchor and face of ABC’s Good Morning America while moonlighting on the weekends as an analyst on Fox NFL Sunday, easily qualifying him as the most visible and recognizable Tiger ever.
Just a class act, high character guy. I’m not surprised he is doing what he is doing because always handled himself and carried himself in a good way. Just an easy going, jokester, fun dude.”
Ramon Manning, TSU teammate
Already a Pro Football Hall of Famer after 15 mostly decorated NFL seasons, Strahan will again be a bright star for his alma mater as he heads into the Texas Southern Sports Hall of Fame on Friday along with 23 other former athletes, coaches, administrators and supporters of the athletic department. The sold-out event will be held at the Ballroom at Bayou Place at 6 p.m.
It’s been a long-awaited honor.
“It’s huge for us and Texas Southern University and as an athletic program to have an opportunity to have a nationally known legendary person go in like Michael Strahan,” said TSU athletic director Dr. Kevin Granger, who is also being inducted in recognition of his spectacular basketball career at TSU in the early 1990s. “When you look at his career and what he was able to accomplish not just on the football field either. He is still an iconic figure with the work he is doing in television broadcasting.
“When you add all of that together it’s just a great day for Texas Southern University and our athletic department to have an individual like Michael Strahan going into our Hall of Fame.”
During his TSU career, Strahan put together a career that still remains a standard that is in tack to this day. He recorded 19 sacks and had 32 tackles for loss totaling -142 yards.
Strahan wrapped up his four-year collegiate career with a TSU record 41.5 total sacks.
It only made sense that one of the most decorated and most highly visible former Tigers would headline the school’s first Hall of Fame class since 1996.
“I’m really proud of the fact I can look at him every day on Good Morning America and then Sunday’s on Fox,” said Tony Wyllie, who worked as a student in the TSU sports information department during Strahan’s time and was part of the Hall of Fame selection committee for this year’s class. “The accomplishments he has had on field and off, is just something we are all proud.
“He is well-deserving of all of the Hall of Fames that he is in because he is a Hall of Famer on and off the field.”
He carries the flag and he represents the school. Everyone knows he is one of our notable alums. He’s not ashamed of it. We’re just as proud of him as he is of the school.
Tony Wyllie
Along the way, Strahan has kept TSU and the football program close. He is often heard bragging about his alma mater on Good Morning America, and during his Pro Football Hall of Fame induction, TSU’s renowned band, the Ocean of Soul, marched in the parade in Canton, Ohio.
He has also remained a friend and supporter of the football program, purchasing the Tigers’ state-of-the-art helmets and fitting the players and coaching staff in his tailor-made Michael Strahan Suits, which have a signature TSU lining.
“Alums have to be engaged, have to be involved so that you can continue to push the narrative forward,” Granger said. “So anytime you can say you have an alum with the distinction of a Michael Strahan involved, it just pays dividends for your department.”
Strahan’s brand and platform have brought favorable attention to TSU in the process. His former teammate Ramon Manning realizes his importance every time to someone who automatically relate TSU and Strahan.
“It just makes me proud because these are people who wouldn’t normally know about Texas Southern but they know about Texas Southern because of him and because of his platform being on these national networks. I love it,” Manning said. “He is a great ambassador and a great representation of TSU, the SWAC and HBCU football.”
MICHAEL STRAHAN
Age: 52
Position: Defensive End
Years at TSU: 1989-1992
TSU accomplishments: Record a school-record 19 quarterback sacks a senior and a TSU record 41.5 career sacks. First-team All-SWAC, SWAC Player of the Year, All-American, Division I-AA Defensive Player of the Year.
Post TSU career: Draft in second round (40th overall) in 1993 NFL Draft by New York Giants. Spent all 15 NFL seasons with the Giants. 7 x Pro Bowl, 4 x First-Team All Pro, NFL Defensive Player of the Year, Super Bowl Champion, 2 x NFL sacks leader.
Post playing career success: New York Giants Ring of Honor, NFL’s All-Decade Team, New York Giants Ring of Honor.
Hall of Fames: Pro Football Hall of Fame (2014), Black College Football Hall of Fame (2014), TSU Sports Hall of Fame (2024).
