O'Cyrus Torrence enshrined forever outside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Kneeling down to remove a Florida Gators cover, O’Cyrus Torrence unveiled a granite plaque that will live outside of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium forever.
The kid from Greensburg, Louisiana didn’t want to play football. When his weight was tipping the scales over four bills he thought it would be an opportunity to shed some pounds and become healthier. It wasn’t easy and he almost quit. Losing weight was hard and football was proving to be more challenging than he thought.
“He came to me one day and said, ‘Coach, I think I’m going to quit,” Torrence’s high school coach Brandon Brown told Gators Online in an exclusive interview. “He said, ‘I don’t like it.’ I said you’re definitely right. You don’t like football. You love it. For a man your size — I was working those guys extremely hard. Hot summer months in Louisiana — south Louisiana is real hot — and he didn’t miss a day. You can’t tell me you don’t like it. You love it. You’re here every single day. If you didn’t like it you wouldn’t be here.”
Coach Brandon Brown was new at St. Helena but he couldn’t help but notice the size. Torrence weighed 418 pounds at his first physical and Brown was tasked with starting a program. A new coach trying to build a program, Brown told Gators Online that there was no hiding the fact that he needed good players. Torrence wasn’t good yet, he was brand new to the game, but Brown saw the potential.
“I told him he’s going to be a millionaire one day and he laughed,” Brown told Gators Online. “We both walked off and every day I would see him I would tell him he was a millionaire. One day it finally clicked. He said, do you really think I can be a millionaire? Ever since then something clicked with the young man and he kept working his butt off.”
“For him to follow me and I’ll say antagonize me about it every day until I actually came to the field, and started to be good,” Torrence said of Brown. “I’ve got nothing but great things to say about him and I’m just thankful for him.”
Torrence credits Brown but the former coach doesn’t take credit. Torrence was the one that had to do the work. He’s turned himself from an overweight middle schooler to an inspiration to the people back in his hometown.
“He’s not only going to be able to help out his grandmother and his family but kids from a small town like Greensburg, Louisiana, it’s going to be amazing,” Brown said. “That’s a story that people don’t really hear about. That’s something that guys only dream about but will come true for O’Cyrus. A kid that was overweight. He didn’t really want to play but has fallen in love with it and is at the pinnacle of being a first round draft pick. It’s an amazing story for my kids.”
Engraved in history
![Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier celebrates with Florida Gators wide receiver Aidan Mizell (11) after a touchdown during the first half at the Orange and Blue spring football game at Steve Spurrier Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, April 13, 2024. [Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun]](https://on3static.com/cdn-cgi/image/height=215,width=393,quality=90,fit=cover,gravity=0.5x0.5/uploads/dev/assets/cms/2024/04/13155133/Untitled-design-65-2.png)
