HOUSTON — The average person probably hasn’t heard of Bessemer, Alabama.
Bessemer is a small city located 16 miles southwest of Birmingham that houses over 27,000 people. It was named after Sir Henry Bessemer, an English engineer who helped make steel manufacturing easier with his “Bessemer Process.”
Buy Texans TicketsFormer professional two-way athlete Bo Jackson, who excelled at football and baseball in the early 1990s, grew up in Bessemer. In his prime, he was named to Major League Baseball’s All-Star team in 1989 as a member of the Kansas City Royals and was announced as a Pro Bowl participant the following year with the Los Angeles Raiders.
Other notables from the “Marvel City” include R&B legend Eddie Levert, former Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Jameis Winston, and Hip-Hop artist Gucci Mane.
One other famous person who has his named mention with the likes of those other individuals is former Jess Lanier High School football player DeMeco Ryans who made a name for himself when he helped take a 1-8 team in his junior season to a 10-3 season the following year. Not only did he excel on the field, but also in the classroom, as Ryans graduated with a 4.0 GPA.
Ryans used his impeccable work ethic on and off the field to gain an athletic scholarship at Alabama. He earned All-American honors and earned the 2005 SEC Defensive Player of the Year in 2005. The Houston Texans selected him in the second round of the 2006 NFL draft, and he played for 10 years in the NFL before becoming a very successful assistant coach and coordinator with the San Francisco 49ers.
As he was introduced as the sixth head coach in Texans franchise history on Thursday, Ryans acknowledged his upbringing in Bessemer and thanked his mother for being such an inspirational part of his life.
“My mother, first and foremost, she taught me to have a relationship with God,” Ryans said, looking directly and emotionally at his mother, who was sitting in the front row with his wife and children. “Then my mother taught me what hard work and sacrifice looks like. My mother is, ‘We’re going to get it done no matter how hard it seems, no matter how far-fetched it may seem. We’re going to get it done.’
“Those principles that I saw her, whether it’s working three jobs, whether it’s walking to work so I can have a car to drive to school. Those sacrifices my mother made has just taught me if you want it, you got to go work. You got to work hard. Those are the things that my mother taught me, and I’m forever grateful for her.”
“What I say to all the people back at Bessemer is, ‘Whatever you dream, if you believe it, you definitely can achieve that,” said Texans HC DeMeco Ryans when I asked him being the example for individuals back in his hometown. #WeAreTexans #Sarge @TheTexansWire pic.twitter.com/16UmtPYYP2
— #SARGE (@BigSargeSportz) February 3, 2023
Ryans exuded those traits before he became the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2006, an All-Pro in 2007, and a two-time Pro Bowl selection in 2009. He started working hard and leading by example in middle school, according to his former middle school and high school coach Billy Woodham.
“When he smiles, he lights up the room,” said Woodham in an interview with CBS42 Birmingham. “When he talks, he leads, and he’s one of those ones back to that old saying, “When he walks in a room, he just kind of he takes charge.’”
The Texans auditorium was at max capacity with current and former players, media members, Texans staff, friends, and family who were all on hand to witness and feel the energy and passion that Ryans displays, and they were not disappointed.
His message also resonated back home with the citizens of Bessemer, where he graciously donates his time and money.
“What I say to all the people back at Bessemer is, ‘Whatever you dream, if you believe it, you definitely can achieve that,’” said Ryans with a smile. “All dreams can come true. That’s what you see here today. This is a dream of mine, and it’s coming true. Whatever anybody, any of us, whatever we dream, we believe, we can make it happen by putting in the work, by hard work, by sacrifice. You can make it happen.”
