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Da’Metrius Weatherspoon vividly remembers watching John Lee Hancock’s 2009 movie “The Blind Side” in a movie theater as an elementary schooler. Weatherspoon never watched or played football, but he was intrigued by Michael Oher’s story.

The scene where Oher’s adoptive mother, Leigh Anne Tuohy, attended one of the future first-round pick’s practices stood out to Weatherspoon. There, she told him he needed to block for his teammates the way he protected his adoptive brother, SJ Tuohy, from getting injured in a car crash.

Fast forward 15 years, and Weatherspoon uses that mentality to protect Kyle McCord’s blind side.

“When you think of it like that, it really makes you lock into a different side,” Weatherspoon said. “You really want to protect the person you love.”

After spending his first three college seasons at Howard, Weatherspoon transferred to Syracuse in January 2024. With the Bison, Weatherspoon tallied just 11 snaps across his first two seasons before starting 12 games at right tackle and becoming an HBCU All-American in 2023. With his eyes set on the National Football League, the 6-foot-7, 330-pound offensive lineman knew he needed to level up.

Immediately after Howard’s season ended on Dec. 16, 2023, Weatherspoon returned to his home in Clairton, Pennsylvania, and made a declaration to his mother, Kim Hollis. He wanted to play in the NFL. Weatherspoon entered the transfer portal four days later.

“Development. More resources, that was just the main ordeal,” Weatherspoon said of why he entered the portal. “I love (Howard), love the coaching staff, everything. I just needed somewhere to go … If I want to go to the league, I got (to) look the part.”

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But there was a caveat to Weatherspoon’s aspirations. He wanted to be a left tackle. The position is usually solidified by a team’s best protector because they protect the side a right-handed quarterback can’t see. Four of the NFL’s five highest-paid offensive linemen in 2024 are left tackles.

Yet, Weatherspoon hadn’t played the position since high school because Anim Dankwah, who is now on the Washington Commanders’ practice squad, manned the spot at Howard from 2021-23.

After he entered the portal, new SU offensive line coach Dale Williams was the first person to call Weatherspoon. Williams told Weatherspoon he first fell on his radar for his performance against Northwestern, the Bisons’ only matchup against a Football Bowl Subdivision school.

As they wrapped up their call, Williams asked Weatherspoon to visit Syracuse. Weatherspoon took his official visit soon after. While he also visited Pitt and considered North Carolina, Weatherspoon committed to SU on Jan. 5.

The Orange entered spring practice without their offensive line set in stone. SU’s 2023 starting tackles, Enrique Cruz Jr. and Mark Petry, and interior starters, J’Onre Reed, Jakob Bradford and Christopher Bleich, all returned to the program. In addition to Weatherspoon, Fran Brown also brought in transfers Savion Washington and Joshua Miller.

Weatherspoon saw the competition as an opportunity. In January, he told Brown he wanted to play left tackle. Brown had a counterargument. He told Weatherspoon he could, but only if he lost 30 pounds.

The journey to reach Brown’s threshold wasn’t easy. At first, Hollis said her son was nervous, anxious and tried rushing the process. Hollis said Weatherspoon would go stretches where he wouldn’t eat, trying to lose all the weight at once. Once he realized he had time, though, he slowed down. Weatherspoon went on a caloric deficit and, with the help of his sister, Brittany, who is a Marine, he began meal prepping.

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Weatherspoon cut down his weight in the end. After playing right tackle throughout spring practices and SU’s spring game, Brown moved him to the left side in training camp. From there, he earned Syracuse’s starting left tackle job.

“He has big dreams,” Brown said of Weatherspoon. “Everything about the kid is Class A. I’m happy (with) what he’s done this year so far, I think he’s a good player with a future after college.”

Weatherspoon’s size has always stood out since he started playing football as an eighth grader. He grew to 6-foot-3, 290 pounds as a freshman at Propel Charter School. Weatherspoon realized his potential in football and began taking it seriously heading into his sophomore year.

“He came a long way,” Hollis said. “…He started out playing so late that I’m like, ‘Oh my goodness, wow.’ It’s almost too good to be true.”

As a result, he transferred to nearby Clairton High School and blossomed over the next two seasons. Weatherspoon began dreaming about playing at programs like Ohio State and Penn State. Then, his world crashed.

The COVID-19 pandemic stripped Weatherspoon of his senior year and he felt isolated. Weatherspoon said he put on “a lot” of weight during quarantine. No top-tier programs were calling.

Still, Howard gave Weatherspoon a chance. Through a virtual recruiting process, the Bison offered Weatherspoon a scholarship and he jumped at the chance. But, it took three seasons for him to get on the field. Weatherspoon played limited snaps as a redshirt freshman in 2021 and suffered a season-ending injury in 2022. Weatherspoon stayed determined, spending every day with the team and never missing a practice.

Heading into the 2023 season, Weatherspoon knew Dankwah had the Bisons’ left tackle role. So, he did everything possible to start at right tackle. A few days into training camp, former Howard defensive lineman Jevin Jackson says he knew Weatherspoon was legit when he dominated his one-on-one reps against Darrian Brokenburr. He won the starting spot and helped the Bison register their best season since 2017.

Da’Metrius Weatherspoon has a has a 66.2 Pro Football Focus offensive grade four games into the 2024 season. Jacob Halsema | Staff Photographer

“I’ve always felt like (Weatherspoon) had NFL talent,” Jackson said. “It’s just a matter of, is he going to get the opportunity or not, which I definitely feel with him going (to a Power Five school) it definitely gives him a better opportunity to go to the NFL.”

Weatherspoon had to prove himself after transferring to Syracuse just as he did at Howard. Four games into the season, he’s shown dominance, including a Week 2 performance that earned him the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Offensive Lineman of the Week.

“He’s worked hard to earn the spot and he deserves the spot,” Reed said of Weatherspoon.

“He does what he needs to do and he excels in doing that,” Petry added.

Transferring to Syracuse has given Weatherspoon the best chance at chasing his NFL dream. And he’s doing it while playing the position he loved well before realizing his future potential.

“Left tackle, that’s where the money (is) at,” Weatherspoon said. “And I seen ‘The Blind Side,’ I said, ‘Oh yeah, left tackle it is.’”

Published on October 3, 2024 at 12:08 am

Contact Justin: justingirshon@gmail.com | @JustinGirshon