For Taige Redman, it’s a wonderful life!!!

Mike Burke
Cumberland Times-News

Attending the annual Dapper Dan Awards Banquet always provides me with a great sense of hope. Not because its arrival means we’re only two weeks from pitchers and catchers reporting, although that certainly doesn’t hurt, but because I come away each year more and more impressed with the young people who live, go to school and play here in our area.

Sure, we thrill in their skills and their composure in the arena, but you don’t really see what a kid’s made of until he or she is put in the position of accepting an award in front of a large gathering and expressing his appreciation, as well as some insight as to what makes him tick on the field, in the classroom and in the life that is just in store for him.

If you’ve seen Taige Redman play sports for the Keyser High School Golden Tornado, you see a marvelously skilled, determined and hard-working athlete. When you see him in a public-speaking forum, you see the present and the future, and you feel both a sense of confidence and excitement for both.

For beginners, young Mr. Redman looks like a movie star. He’s obviously physically fit, he carries himself with a calm confidence, and I usually don’t say something like this in the newspaper about a young man, as not to embarrass him or myself, but he’s ... Well, he’s a damn good looking kid.

He’s a handsome young man because he’s comfortable in his own skin and he projects that to one and all in the room with his gentle, impeccable manners and his genuine care for those around him.

Upon being recognized as the co-defensive player of the year last week, the decorated Keyser linebacker, who played a big hand in the Golden Tornado’s undefeated regular season and Times-News Area championship, looked to be the most comfortable person in the room. What he told the estimated crowd of 300 made every one of us comfortable to be in the room with him, and proud that a young person such as he has built the foundation to what will be a successful life right here in our neck of the woods.

“This is an honor,” he said in accepting his award. “It validates all of the time and effort. But to represent the Dapper Dan, who gives so much to help crippled children ... As an athlete, it’s a privilege, but to represent an organization that helps crippled children is an honor.”

And with that, young Mr. Redman offered his thanks, excused himself and returned to his seat to enjoy the rest of the show.

Taige Redman is the type of person you hope has good things happen for him, and on Wednesday morning something beyond good did.

Just after 9:30 a.m. on national signing day, the linebacker was about to put his Taige Redman on an NCAA National Letter of Intent to continue his education and football career at Ohio University, along with his Keyser teammate Jeremy Green. And that was a very good thing, indeed.

However, before Redman could sign the letter, Golden Tornado assistant coach Scott Furey burst into the room with an energy befitting his last name and said, “Don’t sign that.”

The West Virginia University Mountaineers, whom Taige Redman grew up wanting to play for, were offering him a full scholarship.

We said he looked like a movie star? Well, this was beginning to become a pretty good movie.

Seems WVU had interest in Redman from the beginning, but was straight-up honest with him in telling him the only way he would become a Mountaineer is if somebody else the team was recruiting opted not to become one; and that is precisely what happened.

Thus, Redman, who was also honest with Ohio U. about the circumstance, figured he’d been waiting all his life to become a Mountaineer, a few minutes more wouldn’t hurt until the WVU staff could fax him its letter of intent.

In the letter came, signed it was, and back to Morgantown it went, and now Taige Redman is a Mountaineer.

Redman told the Dominion Post in Morgantown he was never asked to walk on at WVU, which was a good thing since his family wouldn’t be able to afford it. Taige, you see, is one of Penny Redman’s 10 living children, and is the oldest of five who still live with her, as she also has two sets of twins, ages 9 and 10.

Mrs. Redman cried when she heard her son, who she calls a “gentle giant,” was about to realize his dream.

“You couldn’t find a nicer young man to talk to,” Mrs. Redman told the Dominion Post. “He’s very good with people ...

“We’ve had it hard and he just wants to help people in situations,” she said. “I think he looks out there and sees the world as it is, and he just wants to give back to the community.”

WVU head coach Bill Stewart knows exactly what the Mountaineers are getting, saying Wednesday afternoon, “Taige Redman is a classic example of if you do your homework, there are enough good guys out there that you can find that can fit into this system. When I think of Taige Redman, I think of Ben Collins, Bobby Hathaway, and I think of Marc Magro. That’s the kind of guys I think about. It’s all about character.”

“He’s a good role model,” Mrs. Redman said of her son, “a very good big brother. I’m a single mom and he’s the man of the house.

“I’m glad he’s going to college, but I’m going to miss him like crazy because it was just me and him for a long, long time.”

Well, Mrs. Redman, we thank you for sharing your son with us the past four years, and you can be assured that soon enough you will be receiving a similar note of thanks, postmarked Morgantown, W.Va.