"Big Mike" is having a big week.

Michael Oher helped Memphis Briarcrest defeat Evangelical Christian School 24-0 on Tuesday night in the TSSAA Division II Class AA championship game. Today, Oher is named the top high school football player in Tennessee as selected by the News Sentinel.

"It was unbelievable to win a state championship," said the 6-foot-6, 330-pound Oher, who is often called "Big Mike" by teammates. "It was great to beat our rival school. They beat us earlier in the season."

ECS knew Oher would be a factor as an offensive tackle. He has anchored Briarcrest's offensive line all season, even when ECS defeated Briarcrest in the regular season.

ECS had to be surprised that Oher played the entire game on offense and defense. Oher rarely played defensive tackle before the championship game. Briarcrest held Evangelical Christian to 95 total yards with only 14 yards rushing. On 22 carries, ECS averaged 0.64 yards per carry.

Oher started playing high school varsity football in the eighth grade. The extra year allowed him to hone his skills. Then, as Oher became bigger and quicker, his technique would sometimes lag against lesser competition.

"I need to work on my pad level when I come off the ball," he said. "In high school, I pretty much dominate. I tend to get my pad level high. I'm a great pass blocker. I think that's the best part of my game."

With high school football behind him, Oher will move on to basketball. Oher said he can easily throw an ally-oop pass off the backboard and dunk a 10-foot goal. Oher said he has been able to dunk a 10-foot goal since the ninth grade. And when he plays basketball, his imposing frame is tough on defenders and officials.

"The refs have a hard time calling my games," Oher said, echoing Shaquille O'Neal-like big man sentiments.

Oher will have to take time during basketball season to contemplate his next step: signing a football scholarship. Oher said he is interested in Tennessee, Ole Miss, LSU, and Memphis. He visited UT for the Auburn game on Oct. 2.

"When I went up there, it was unbelievable," Oher said. "I enjoyed it. I loved everything about it. Anywhere I go is going to be a great decision. Tennessee is pretty high up there. I pulled for Tennessee a lot growing up."

Like most offensive linemen, Oher is drawn to UT coach Phillip Fulmer, a former offensive lineman and offensive line coach. The two have struck up a good relationship.

Oher said he will wait until the first day of the spring signing period on Feb. 2 to announce his decision in hopes of avoiding the pitfalls that have caught other highly touted prospects.

"That's a lack of responsibility," Oher said of prospects who de-commit. "That will make people think bad things about you. When you commit somewhere, that's where you've got to be. I want to sit down and see what I like best out of all the colleges and have time to think about it."

Oher said he is being recruited as a tackle and can either add or lose weight to fit a college program's needs. Oher's patience is nearly as noticeable as his size and athletic ability which both are great NFL attributes.

"I try not to think about the NFL," Oher said. "Everybody talks about it. I just want to graduate high school and play at the college level. If I'm great at the college level, then I'd love to play in the NFL."

Time will tell if Oher is great at the college level. For this season, he is state's best at the high school level.