The student-athletes, family, and friends in attendance for the Scholarships for Champions program, a collaboration with Reliant Energy and the Houston Texans designed to award Houston-area high school seniors for their academic achievements while excelling in their respective sports, all had their attention focused on Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair, whom they gravitated towards because of his amazing journey towards playing in the NFL.
Since 2005, Reliant and the Houston Texans have supported nearly 110 students headed to college through merit scholarships. The program has surpassed $710,000 in scholarship donations.
Although Shaair was there to surprise the six recipients by giving each one a $10,000 scholarship, he also shared his story of overcoming adversity throughout his adolescent years, when he and his family were homeless and had to live out of a motel.
“I grew up with seven other siblings, it was eight of us, and my mother was a single mother,” said Shaair to former Houston Texans wide receiver Cecil Shorts, who was hosting the event. “I grew up pretty much homeless for a good portion of my life. It was really hard going through the things that I went through.
“Nights where you have nothing to eat or where you are going to sleep. I used to take the city bus for two and a half hours just to get to school, so by the time I got to school, I usually got there late every single day.”
Shaair, 26, used football as an escape from the reality he consistently had to deal with, but his career almost ended as soon as it started. At 13, his grandfather paid for him to play little league football, and after one practice, he decided that he had enough and quit.
“When he signed me up, he lied to the coach,” said Shaair. “He told him I was super-fast and had hands like Jerry Rice. So, because of what my grandfather said, they put me with the biggest group of kids, and they said, ‘Ok, we are going to see what your grandpa was talking about.’ I got ran over the first day in Oklahoma drills and quit.”
Coming from such a large and proud family, when Shaair got home, his mother talked to him and gave him a message that has stuck with him throughout his playing career thus far.
“All you can do is trust in God and work as hard as you can,” said Shaair, questioning if that plan would work. “My mother told me, ‘That which is for you shall not pass you by, and that which passes you by is not for you. A lot of people who do not accomplish their goals is because they are not willing to sacrifice what it takes.’”
Shaair used his mother’s words as motivation to continue playing football, and he became very good at it. He finished high school as a two-time all-state, all-county, and all-conference selection and was offered a scholarship to play football at Florida Atlantic University.
During his first three years, Shaair made the All-Conference USA team and earned Freshman All-American honors. However, a lower-body injury limited him to six games during his senior year.
Going undrafted was not a deterrent for Shaair and his dream of playing in the NFL. He was signed by the San Francisco 49ers and coached by his current head coach, DeMeco Ryans, who saw much potential in Shaair as he became an intricate part of the 49ers run to three NFC Championship Games and a Super Bowl appearance.
After playing one season for the Tennessee Titans in 2023, Houston signed him to a three-year, $34 million contract this offseason.
Among the attendees listening intently was Da’Vaughn Johnson, a senior at Furr High School who, like Shaair, plays on the defensive side of the ball at the linebacker position. Earlier, Johnson had a chance to speak one-on-one with Shaair and was encouraged by his words.
“That is one of my favorite players,” Johnson told reporters. “He was giving me the best advice he can because we play the same position and we come from the same background. So, he understands how it feels to be in my shoes. We were talking about how we come from the same background, and the experiences we have today make us the people we are.”