In the summer of 2002, a homeless Oher slept on the floor of an acquaintance in Memphis named Tony Henderson. A huge man known to the locals as "Big Tony," he had promised his dying mother that he would enroll his son in parochial school. Henderson decided he'd try to place Oher there, too.
<span style="font-weight: bold;">The two ended up at Briarcrest Christian School, where Oher, then a junior, played organized football for only the second time.</span>
It was at Briarcrest that he met Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy of Memphis, whose daughter attended the school. They'd heard of Oher's difficult times and met with him at the school. They eventually took such an interest in him - and such a liking to him - that they eventually brought him into their home.