Michael Strahan has been flexing his charitable giving muscles lately, especially with Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
The Texas Southern University alumnus donated a necessary gift for the collegiate sports program that sent him to the NFL. Strahan delivered two trunks full of helmets for the team. According to TMZ Sports, the coach said that the team’s former white helmets got old and beaten up.
The team then got at Michael Strahan, and he came through with the assist. The Hall of Famer immediately came to the aid of his school. Last week, Strahan then sent over 100 new maroon-and-gray Riddell helmets to the Tigers.
Strahan The TSU GOAT
However, the gift was just one of many memorable moments Strahan has brought to the school throughout the years.
Strahan had a reputation for sacking quarterbacks at Texas Southern. While there, he had a school-record 41.5 career sacks. Strahan graduated from TSU in 1993 and began a Hall of Fame pro career after.
“Texas Southern, it gave me the life I have now,” said Strahan to “Entertainment Tonight.” “Without Texas Southern, I am not here; I’m not talking to you,” Strahan says. “What I loved about it is it was a school that fit me, my personality. It was the right size.”
Strahan looked like an NFL prospect leading the SWAC with 14.5 quarterback sacks as a junior at TSU. His senior year, he was selected First Team All-America by The Associated Press.
He recorded 68 tackles with a school-record 19 quarterback sacks and 32 tackles totaling 142 yards in losses. He was also selected Division I-AA Defensive Player of the Year. In 1992, he was named First Team All-Southwestern Athletic Conference and the SWAC’s Player of the Year for the second consecutive season.
HBCU Pride
He was also named Black College Defensive Player of the Year. He was inducted into the Black College Football Hall of Fame in 2014.
“I was supported every day on that campus. I look back and I think, ‘How blessed was I to go to an HBCU and sit on that campus every day?'” he continues. “I wish I would have enjoyed it a little bit more than I did when I was there. It is such a different environment than most people ever experience, but it was definitely perfect for me.”
NFL Legend
The defensive end was drafted to the NFL in the second round. He was the 40th player taken overall in the 1993 NFL draft by the New York Giants. When his 15-season NFL career ended, he ranked fifth all-time in sacks.
In addition, he was the Giants’ record holder with 141.5 career sacks.
Strahan was also noted as one of the best defensive ends defending against the run. He enjoyed his best season in 2001 establishing a new NFL record with 22.5 sacks. He also led the league with a career-high seven forced fumbles.
In addition, he was named the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year. Two seasons later, he added a second NFL sack crown when he registered 18.5 quarterback takedowns.
He started at left defensive end for the Giants in two NFC Championship victories and two Super Bowls.
