On the Wave: Football's Badie Shows off His Many Skills

Note: This story originally appeared in the Nov. 4 edition of Green Wave Illustrated for the Tulane vs. Cincinnati football game.

Outgoing, social, inventive and speedy are just a few words that can describe Tulane running back Sherman Badie.

The redshirt senior displayed his inventive side in high school when he discovered his passion for fashion. For his friends, he made distressed blue jeans by hand, cutting jean shorts and bleaching them for his friends, and considered a career in fashion design.

Upon learning that Tulane does not offer a fashion design program, Badie turned to his outgoing and social personality.

When he arrived on campus, the Metairie, La. native already knew many of the Tulane coaches and players from his time as a high school standout at John Curtis Christian. When it came time to choose a field of study, he turned to his familiar teammates for advice. Former Tulane receiver Marc Edwards first saw Badie's potential as a public relations major.

"I never knew much about public relations as a freshman," Badie said. "I saw that it was almost like a communications course and deals with the media, so that caught my attention because I feel like I'm such a social person."

The naturally outgoing Badie quickly fell in love with the course work. He recognizes that his skills as a football player, along with his outgoing social side and ability to speak in front of crowds can carry him in the future. He plans to combine his passion for football with his degree by becoming a spokesperson for brands and athletes.

The speedy Badie was on full display during the 2013-14 year when he redshirted in football and ran track for the Green Wave. In his first individual race, he notched a 10.72 in the 100-meter dash, the 10th-fastest time in school history. Despite his interest in pursuing fashion design or track and field, his true passion has always been football.

"I feel the most comfortable and the most excitement playing football," Badie said. "That's just where my heart is. I've been playing football since I was 6 years old and I've just always loved the game."

Badie's goal for this season is to help lead the Green Wave to a bowl game. He experienced the bowl game atmosphere in 2013 when Tulane faced UL Lafayette in the New Orleans Bowl, but he did not take the field due to his redshirt status.

"I was able to travel with the team and go out on the field and just get the whole bowl game experience even though I didn't play," Badie said. "It was definitely the most memorable thing I've been through here at Tulane."

After this season, he looks forward to beginning a career in public relations. But his immediate future revolves around making it in the NFL. To that end, Badie spent the summer working with former Tulane and current Washington Redskins running back Rob Kelley. During their time together at Tulane, Kelley served as a mentor to Badie.

"He was always encouraging other people to do better," Badie said of Kelley. "I'm kind of following in his footsteps. I'm trying to get to the same place, take the same path that he went down."

In his final year with the Green Wave, Badie hopes to pass down some of the knowledge that Kelley gave to him. He spends every practice helping mentor younger players.

"I'm older and I feel like a lot of the younger guys look up to me," Badie said. "They expect me to know what to do at certain times and during certain tasks. I feel like I do a great job of just making sure everybody is doing what they need to do."

In addition to his production on the field, Badie is just as productive in the classroom. He is a two-year member of the American Athletic Conference All-Academic Team and the Tulane 3.0 Club. He admits that balancing academics with athletics can be a struggle, but that it will all be worth it in the end when he receives his Tulane degree.

"I just focus on doing everything I have to do, no matter how hard it might be," Badie said. "Do everything right, that's my mind set. Just do everything right because once it's all over with it's over with. There is no going back."

On the Wave: Football's Badie Shows off His Many Skills

Players Mentioned

Sherman Badie

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