Braised Lambchop

Louis Oubre comes back home

I had to say the name aloud before this story clicked. It's not 'OW-bree' -- it's 'OO-bray.' Sooner fans my age and older remember Louis Oubre well.

Louis Oubre was an All-American offensive lineman from Oklahoma who played four seasons for the New Orleans Saints and one for the Miami Dolphins. He had finally found his place, coaching the offensive line of a magnet high school, in New Orleans.

He and his fiance had to flee New Orleans with the clothes on their backs and not much else:

Oubre escaped his hometown with his 2005 Mazda Tribute, a little cash, three pairs of shorts, his size-14 sneakers, a McDonogh 35 High School shirt, one pair of underwear and one pair of socks.

Oubre thought he would be back in a day or two but now might never return.

He's starting over in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas, with his fiance and her two children.

Oubre's biggest regret is not lost possessions, not even the memorabilia from his days as an Oklahoma football All-American.

His biggest loss is the breakup of five senior offensive linemen at McDonogh 35, now scattered across the continent by Hurricane Katrina. Oubre was their position coach; they were in his charge.

(snip)

When New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin issued a mandatory evacuation, off they went, arriving in Jackson the night before the hurricane veered east and took out much of the Mississippi gulf coast.

Reaching I-20, they talked about turning toward Birmingham, Ala., and Atlanta.

But then Oubre thought of Terry Crouch, his old pal from Sooner days, whom Rouzan had never met. Crouch lived in Dallas.

Said Oubre, "Let's go see T.C."