Dede Westbrook hasnt prepared a Heisman Trophy speech for Saturday night. He doesnt think hell need one because, as he put it: Im not expecting to get up there.This has been one of the greatest weeks of his life. A Big 12 championship on Saturday. Heisman finalist on Monday. Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year on Wednesday. The Biletnikoff Award, as the nations top receiver, on Thursday. New York City on Friday.Through it all, Westbrook has been thinking about who hed like to thank.This was never part of the plan, Westbrook said.Two of the coaches who always believed in him -- one he played for, one he didnt -- couldnt be prouder of Westbrook and the role they played in guiding him years before he would become the best receiver in college football at Oklahoma. Hes glad Rick Rhoades and Brad Franchione were two of the many who never let him quit.He calls Rhoades, his head coach at Cameron (Texas) Yoe High School, a father figure. During OUs Thanksgiving bye week two weeks ago, he went home and met up with Rhoades at a Cameron Yoe playoff game. Rhoades, now the coach and AD at Gregory-Portland, asked Westbrook how he was enjoying his newfound stardom.He told me that when it first started it was really neat that everybody recognized him, Rhoades said. Now its just a pain. He has to send his sister to Wal-Mart if he needs something, because if not, everybody in the world stops him and wants to get a picture with him.Its all a far cry from the anonymity he felt in his final year at Cameron Yoe, when he encountered the first major setback that jeopardized his playing career and future. There would be many more on his winding path to Oklahoma.It was a freak injury. Theres really no other way to describe it.Midway through the 2011 season, Westbrook was playing defensive back against McGregor High. He got tangled up with a receiver when they both went up for a ball.As he came down, he put his knee up to break his fall, and I kind of landed on top of him. Me being on top of him, his knee went up into my stomach and he ruptured my small intestines, Westbrook said.The knee struck him right in between his protective rib pads. Westbrook managed to walk off the field, Rhoades said, but the pain overwhelmed him when he got to the sideline. An operation to repair the injury required 18 staples and and left a six-inch scar from his chest down to his belly button.They were telling me Id never play football again, Westbrook said.His senior season was over. He lost a bunch of weight. His grades suffered. The college recruiters started backing off. In some ways, Westbrook had briefly lost his identity.Franchione did not give up on him. The Texas State assistant coach and son of head coach Dennis Franchione kept sending Westbrook letters during his five-day hospital stay and recovery. He came up with an academic plan to get Westbrook qualified. He sold him on the idea of staying closer to Cameron, a town of about 5,000.They were so family-oriented, Westbrook said, and they never turned on me.Westbrook committed to Texas State in November 2011. That spring, his chances of qualifying all came down to an SAT score. And after multiple attempts, he got the score he needed.But it was such an improvement from his previous score, Rhoades said, that the NCAA flagged it and never validated the score.So Franchione called his buddies at Blinn College, a junior college located an hour away from Cameron in Brenham, Texas. Hed been the head coach there for six years and led two NJCAA national title teams, including the 2009 squad starring Cam Newton. He knew the coaches there would take good care of Westbrook.I told their coach wed sure love to have him back, Franchione said, but it may be a pipe dream.Westbrook got off to a hot start at Blinn in 2012: 12 catches, 428 receiving yards, five TDs. And then he got hurt. This one wasnt major, but it was enough to throw him off course. He quit going to practice. He quit going to class. Rhoades said nobody at Blinn could find him.He dropped out and went home to Cameron. He needed a break and wanted time with his two young children, Vincent and Destiny. He didnt go back to Blinn in 2013.I was done with football, Westbrook said. I didnt want to play any longer. Id been playing since I was 7 years old and I was tired of it. I just wanted to get away from the game.Franchione still didnt give up on Westbrook, even when coaches warned him he was spinning his wheels. He kept urging the reluctant star to go back to school, to think about the bright future he was turning his back on.I told him, Youve got these little ones and want to know how youre gonna take care of them, Franchione said. Youve got a gift on the football field. The only way to give that gift to your kids is by doing your classwork and getting to that next level.With the help and convincing of Blinn coach Keith Thomas, who let Westbrook bring his children to practice on Tuesdays and Thursdays, the receiver returned to school and to football in 2014.I was dying to be back out there, Westbrook said. It gave me that hunger and that mentality that Ill work my tail off because its not promised to any of us.After returning, Westbrook finished with nearly 1,500 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns in just eight games. He suddenly had a long list of scholarship offers. He told Franchione he still wanted to go to Texas State. The assistants four-year investment was finally going to pay off.I remember celebrating and probably speaking too soon to our coaches at Texas State that we had him, Franchione said. I kind of regret opening my mouth. I remember some of them looking at me like I was crazy.The next day, Oklahoma came and offered him.What would have happened had he gone to Texas State? Franchione says there was no ceiling. They wouldve built the offense around him and even planned to let him play some Wildcat quarterback. For a coaching staff that got laid off after going 3-9 in 2015, its a difficult what if.Things would be a lot different, Westbrook said Wednesday after landing in Atlanta for the Biletnikoff Award ceremony. No disrespect to Texas State, but I probably wouldnt be where I am right now.When DEDE WESTBROOK appeared on his TV screen Monday night, when he saw his mug shot and knew it was real, his jaw dropped.Thats crazy, he muttered.He kept staring at the screen, speechless. He said it again. Westbrook was the last of the five Heisman Trophy finalists announced on the ESPN broadcast. And hell be the most unlikely candidate in the room Saturday.His life couldnt have worked out much better once he did make it to Norman. Hes won two Big 12 titles. Hes playing in the right offense with the right quarterback, teaming with fellow Heisman finalist Baker Mayfield for 120 catches, 2,200 receiving yards and 20 scores in their two seasons together. Hell get to support his children by playing in the NFL next year.Coach Rhoades taught me on the journey to playing football, you also become a better man, Westbrook said.Rhoades feared Westbrook might give up but is absolutely not surprised hes persevered. Franchione has no hard feelings about the one who got away.I know theres a lot of people that really love Dede Westbrook and love to see the success hes having, Franchione said.As Westbrook pondered his journey this week, he just kept coming back to that one word.Its surreal. I still cant believe it, he said. Its crazy. I beat the odds. Now Im a Heisman finalist. Thats crazy. Like ... its crazy. Ombre Hydro Flask 40 oz Wide Mouth Mint Water Bottle . -- Nate Robinson has played for seven teams, so beating one of them is no longer a rare occurrence. Hydro Flask With Straw Sale .com) - The Calgary Flames aim to bounce back from their first regulation home loss of the campaign on Friday night when they host a Detroit Red Wings club that they swept in three meetings a season ago. http://www.hydroflaskwaterbottleuk.com/white-ombre-hydro-flask-40-oz-wide-mouth-water-bottle.html . The Masters champion and winner of last weeks Australian PGA has a three-round total of 14-under 199 at Royal Melbourne. "Im in a really good position for tomorrow," Scott said. Hydro Flask 18 OZ White . Oyama had six birdies and two bogeys at Kintetsu Kashikojima in the event also sanctioned by the Japan LPGA Tour. "I have been having this neck ache thats been affecting my golf recently," Oyama said. 21 oz Ombre Hydro Flask Sport Cap Standard Mouth Olive . P.A. Parenteau scored early in the third period to help the Avs edge Toronto 2-1 on Tuesday night. Cory Sarich also scored for Colorado (3-0-0), which is off to its best ever start.BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Based on the three strikeouts he posted in his one inning of work, its understandable why Sergio Santos feels hes ready to return to the Toronto Blue Jays. Santos, pitching for the Buffalo Bisons, fanned three of the four batters he faced, shutting out the Toledo Mud Hens in the seventh inning of a 4-2 loss. On the disabled list since April 15 with a right triceps strain, Santos allowed a one-out single in the first triple-A game of his rehab assignment. He threw 12 of his 20 pitches for strikes. Prior to joining Buffalo, Santos appeared in five games with single-A Dunedin and allowed four hits and two walks with two strikeouts over 4 2/3 innings. "I felt good. It was definitely a little different atmosphere than I was used to in Dunedin," Santos said. "I had a little more adrenaline going, facing better hitters. It was a better task for me and I was able to get a better gauge of where Im at." After a little prodding, Santos admitted he felt ready to make the short jaunt along the Queen Elizabeth Way to Toronto. "It was a good days work," Santos said. "If it was up to me, Id like to be back as soon as possible." Buffalo manager Marty Brown differed slightly, indicating Santos needs more seasoning. "He definitely needs another outing or two," Brown said. "Just to see where hes at. He was a little amped up tonight." Brown added: "He threw the ball well, but threw too many pitches. I liked what I saw, but hes not where he needs to be with his slider." Santos felt that the hit he allowed provided a benefit, forcing him into a situation with a runner on base.dddddddddddd "Thats what I need to work on," he said. "It feels so foreign sometimes when theres runners on base and theres stuff happening. It kind of felt more game-like, in situations I would face during the season. It was good to have that kind of pressure and not let any runs come across." Outfielder Melky Cabrera also joined the Bisons (49-48) to continue his rehab work, but did not play. He was placed on Torontos disabled list on June 27 with left knee tendinitis and has played two games with Dunedin and three with double-A New Hampshire, batting .294 (5-of-17) in five games. Cabrera is expected to make his Buffalo debut on Friday. Thad Weber (3-4), who made four appearances with Toronto in May and June, started for Buffalo and battled through five innings. He matched his season-high with four runs allowed on six hits and a season-high four walks. Weber entered the game with five quality starts in his last six appearances and had last worked fewer than six innings on June 4. Buffalo, in its first game since the all-star break, was held to seven hits, including a two-out triple by Kevin Pillar in the first inning. Pillar has been a revelation at triple-A, batting .347 with hits in 20-of-25 games with the Bisons. Munenori Kawasaki, optioned to Buffalo last Saturday when Brett Lawrie made his Toronto return, was 1-of-3 with an infield single and a walk. Both of the Bisons representatives in the triple-A all-star game, held Wednesday in Reno, played against Toledo. 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