Brad Hermes might be one of the most inspirational members of the Texas football team, yet he may never take the field while wearing burnt orange.
Most Texas fans probably haven't heard of the walk-on senior, and he surely can't hear them.
Hermes is deaf. But his disability never ruined his dream of becoming a college football player. Now that he's a part of the fifth-ranked Longhorns, he just might provide his teammates with the inspiration needed to make a national title run.
His inspiration goes way beyond the fact that he works hard everyday and doesn't get the glory of playing time. He refuses to give up despite performing typical walk-on duties: the workouts, the practices and the scout team drills.
Hermes became deaf when he was 18-months-old from a high fever that resulted from chicken pox. He then started learning American Sign Language and attended public schools until he graduated from Denton High School.
He started playing sports when he was 7 years old, and played football for the first time when he was 13. As a senior defensive back at Denton High, he was an all-district and all-area performer. Hermes is a second-year walk-on at Texas and a member of the scout team.
He isn't the first deaf person to play sports, but he is the first deaf football player at Texas.
Kenny Walker was an All-American defensive tackle at the University of Nebraska from 1989 to 1990. He was drafted by Denver in the eighth round and played two seasons for the Broncos. Walker is now an assistant football coach at the Iowa School for the Deaf.
Just like the Broncos did for Walker, UT provides an interpreter for Hermes. While he has several that help him, Lynn Blazek generally assists him most. And just like Hermes, Blazek attends all practices, meetings and games.
"I pretty much shadow him or am by him at all times, keeping him informed of what's going on,"
When Hermes and Blazek started, they had to work with the coaches and with each other to keep communication smooth. They both agreed the coaches have done a splendid job of accommodating Hermes.
"The interpreter is always there, so I always know what's going on," Hermes said. "The coaches are pretty cool about coming up to me one-on-one. In the beginning, we kind of had to teach them, but I do fine."
Hermes and Blazek have come up with some of their own abbreviations and also copied some of the signals the coaches use and have incorporated them into their signing.
Even though communication among Hermes and the coaches and players is good, there are some worries about how things would go in a game situation.
Even head coach Mack Brown has been concerned about what would happen or how it would work if Hermes were to see action during a game.
"The only concern I had for him was injury because he can't hear the whistle as well as some other kids and I've talked to him about that," Brown said. "I said, 'How can I be sure that if we put you in a game you won't get hurt?' and he said, 'They quit hitting me, I quit hitting them.' That's a pretty good comment."
Because of his worries, Brown said that one day he sat down and talked to Hermes about the possibility of being a manager or trainer instead of playing football.
"After spring practice, I discouraged him because I didn't want him to get hurt," Brown said. "He didn't want to be discouraged. He wouldn't have anything to do with it. He said, 'I want to play, coach, and I want to play like everybody else.' And he should have that right."
When Hermes is on the field, he looks at the other players or at the ball to know when the play starts. He knows his duty right now for Texas is the scout team defense, but he is still hoping to get into at least one game since it's his senior year.
"This is my last season with them, so I'm hoping to get one or two plays with special teams, that's my goal," Hermes said.
But even if Hermes doesn't get in a game, the fact that he is a Longhorn football player is enough inspiration for the many deaf children. He said that he is glad he can have such an influence on the lives of young deaf children while at Texas because he didn't have any deaf role models throughout his childhood.
Hermes frequently goes to the Texas School for the Deaf to make presentations for the students.
"You are really impressed with some walk-ons because of their background, and with me being deaf, it seems like maybe I'm more noticeable," Hermes said. "I really just try to use myself to encourage other people, whether they're deaf or not or have any other disabilities, that they can do anything.
"It's a big privilege for me to come here and be a part of the team," he said. "So I just try to encourage the kids to have something to look forward to, and to not think of things as limits, and to have higher expectations and goals for themselves."
Many of the other football players are influenced by Hermes, too, and they are rooting for him to get in a game.
"Brad is a great guy, and it's been an honor and a privilege for me to play beside a guy like that," free safety Ahmad Brooks said. "He has overcome circumstances that many people wouldn't overcome and he doesn't miss a beat."
Blazek said that it is good to see that the other players don't treat Hermes any different from other members of the team. In fact, many of the players have started taking the American Sign Language class at UT.
"There is no question about it; he is one of us," Brooks said. "He's a part of our team, and we love Brad. The guys on the team mess with him and treat him like everyone else. He's one of the guys."
And that's all Hermes wants to be.
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