Kornacki: Life Comes Full-Circle for Hard-Working Higdon
10/31/2017 11:44:00 AM | Football, Features
By Steve Kornacki
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- There was a magical moment that occurred after University of Michigan football tailback Karan Higdon rushed for 200 yards in an overtime victory at Indiana University earlier this month. And, funny thing was, Higdon wasn't initially aware of the special connection he had with the Hoosiers running backs coach who approached him with kind words and a special request.
Samantha Christian, Karan's mother, chuckled before recalling the unique encounter: "The coach came up to him without introducing himself and said, 'Kid, you're a heck of a runner. You're going to go far, keep it going. You're great. You're awesome. Can I have your gloves?' Karan said, 'Sure,' and gave him his gloves.
"His brother, Kavon, said, 'Karan, did you know that coach is Mike Hart, who set all the records at Michigan?' He gave those gloves to him not knowing it was Mike Hart. How ironic was that? He did not know that was Mike Hart! But he got so excited in knowing that, and said, 'I should've at least asked for his autograph.'"
It was a come-full-circle moment because Hart, back in 2007, was the last Wolverines tailback to reach the 200-yard rushing plateau. He rushed for a school-record 5,189 yards, 2004-2007.
This has been a time of joy and fulfillment for Higdon and his family because, according to his mother, this has also been a come-full-circle season for the junior tailback from Sarasota (Florida) Riverview High.
His mother has inspired him to stay the course his entire life, from not letting him quit his first football team at age 5, to not allowing him to transfer out of a difficult Spanish course, to encouraging him to become a great fullback when briefly switched there at Riverview, to demanding he focus on his reasons for coming to Michigan when he was struggling to get playing time.
"He went through the same thing in high school that he did in college, not starting or getting much playing time," said his mother. "He's humble and hungry, and that's because he's been there before.
"But he started doubting himself: 'Maybe I should've gone to Iowa.' I said, 'Son, what was the reason you chose the University of Michigan?' He said, 'To get my degree.' I said, 'Stay on course.' I told him to focus on the long-term goals."
Karan wanted to become an orthopedic surgeon and flipped from Iowa to Michigan just prior to signing day because of its medical school, and ended up studying to be a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist.
Now her son, who had a 4.0 grade-point average in high school, is on schedule to graduate this summer and plans to attend graduate school during his senior season in 2018. And he has started five straight games and found his rhythm in the last four outings by averaging 117 yards rushing in those games and becoming the team's top ground-gainer with 604 yards while ranking third in the Big Ten with eight rushing touchdowns.
"Now, it's so fun to see all of this coming full circle," said his mother. "And he deserves it so much because that kid works so hard and is very positive. Nothing was given to him. He had fight. To see him now, playing for the University of Michigan at a high level, is a dream come true. Gosh, this is my baby, I remember him playing flag football and wanting to quit."
The "life lessons" she instilled in Karan, named for his father, Karan Lamont Higdon, Sr., started 16 years ago when he returned from that first football practice and pronounced he was done with it.
"It was too hot!" said Higdon, laughing at the memory.
Christian recalled his grandmother, known as "Nana," encouraging her to let her son walk away from the team.
"I paid money for him to play on that team and asked him then if he was committed to playing," said Christian. "He said, 'Yes.' So, I told him, 'Listen, son, when you start something, you have to finish it, bottom line. Suck it up.' He told me about how hot it was, and I told him to drink water.
"I took him back out there and he hated it. Boy, he hated it. It was hot, but it was Florida. Suck it up. And he dug deep. We laugh about it now, but that was a life lesson. He's played football every year since, and the more he played, the more natural the game came. He loved it."
Then he reached Riverview High, a quality school that he was able to attend when his mother moved the family "when I was about nine" into an area of Sarasota better suited to developing children to reach their potential.
"You can fall victim and become a product of your environment," said Karan, "but fortunately for me, I had a mom who was able to get me out of that situation to do the things I want to do in life.
Karan Higdon's 200-yard effort against Indiana on Oct. 14 was the first by a Wolverine running back since Mike Hart, now Indiana University's running backs coach, achieved the feat in 2007.
"My mom means everything to me. She works just as hard, and so I know I've got to go hard every day. She doesn't give up, and so I don't give up."
Still, Spanish and playing fullback provided bumps in the road to success at Riverview.
"Karan took Spanish and wasn't doing too well," said his mother. "He's always been a straight-A student, but he was getting a C in Spanish. He thought the teacher didn't like him, but I told him she was pushing him to learn, and that he just needed to work harder. He put forth the effort, I would quiz him with flash cards, and he got a 100 on his next test. He had an excitement in his voice: 'Mom! I really did this.' He took Spanish all four years."
He didn't play fullback long, but followed his mother's advice "to be the best fullback you can be" before moving back to his natural tailback position.
Christian moved to Shelby Township, a north Detroit suburb, when Karan came to Michigan. She's the staffing coordinator and scheduler at Heartland of Sterling Heights Comprehensive Rehabilitation Skilled Nursing Services. His younger brothers, Kavon Higdon, a senior at Utica High, and Keion Higdon, a seventh-grader, are versatile football players dreaming their own dreams now.
She spends weekends driving to the games her sons are playing, and was asked for her reaction to that 200-yard effort at Indiana.
"Oh, happy days!" she exclaimed.
Karan busted up the middle for a 59-yard touchdown and around the left end for the game-winning, 25-yard touchdown in overtime. He had a 49-yard TD around that left end of tackle Mason Cole and guard Ben Bredeson again Saturday (Oct. 28) against Rutgers.
What are the sensations he realizes on long runs to the end zone?
"I don't feel anything," said Higdon. "The only thing I see is the journey I ran through, and running to get out of it. And I'm running with my city on my shoulders, Sarasota, Florida, the kids growing up on the same street I grew up on, and hoping to one day make it out.
"I'm running with them. Carrying them on my shoulders."
Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh loves Higdon's game and that he's a "high-character guy" at every turn.
"It shows up in all phases of your life," Harbaugh said. "It shows up in the classroom. It shows up on the football field. It shows up in the community. Karan's got a great track record of being a do-stuff-right guy."
He's given back by organizing the "Who Next Football Camp" that debuted last May in the Sarasota area.
"It was great," said Karan. "It made the kids feel included, feel important, and got them exposed to things they might not have gotten exposed to otherwise. They were able to be with guys who were at the next level and where they want to be at. They were able to talk to us, and we were able to provide them motivation to keep going."
His mother added, "He has a heart of gold, and I call him my golden child, he's Mr. Do-Right. I instilled in him that you always give back and help the next person. Karan has always been blessed with a great support system inside and outside of the family. I told him to spread that blessing to other children. You get blessed by providing a blessing."
It all seems to come back to his name, too. When I asked him about it, he noted it was first given by his great-aunt to his father, who works in construction, and has its origins in India.
Higdon read the meaning of his name from an Internet search on his smartphone:
"Karan is lively and sociable, extroverted and extremely communicative. He is a likeable character, gentle, peaceful, sensitive and loves humanity." It goes onto say Karan is "courageous and determined," and if anyone lives up to the meaning of his name, it is Higdon.
"That's me," he said with a big smile.
Then he pointed to the "nurturing environment" he's had with his family and the Wolverines.
"I'm thankful for my team," said Higdon. "I'm thankful for these coaches. The O-Line is tremendous and the fullbacks are tremendous. I'm proud of those guys, and without them, I wouldn't be having the success that I'm having.
"We care about each other. We love each other. That's important, through thick and thin, through adversity and success. You've got to stick together, stick with it."
