PITTSBURGH — Before Damar Hamlin was a Buffalo Bills player getting support from around the world, he was Damar Hamlin, a freshman at Central Catholic High School in Pittsburgh and his football coach was Terry Totten.
Totten was watching Monday night's game between Cincinnati and Buffalo and cheering on his former player as he often does. And just like the millions of people viewing at home, he witnessed what occurred minutes into the first quarter and simply called it "a horror."
Having coached football for 21 years, Totten, who recently retired, said he knew by the expressions on the players' faces that something was not right and that the situation was far worse than a typical football injury.
"At first you're in shock, you think back to your relationship with him. I met him when he was 13 years old," Totten said.
Hamlin is a 2016 graduate of Central Catholic High School and played under Coach Totten for all four years he attended. He was a young man mature beyond his age, the coach said, as well as a steady and natural leader.
The two stayed in touch after graduation, and Hamlin attended the University of Pittsburgh so he could stay close to his tight family in McKees Rocks, a borough just north of Pittsburgh-proper.
Totten said Hamlin faced adversity during his formative years in high school and college, including injuries and a position change, but never backed down from his goals — two of which were making it to the NFL and giving back to his hometown.
The latter Hamlin started doing as a freshman and sophomore at Pitt, which Totten said spoke so much to his character and still does.
"I think the outpouring of support you're seeing across this nation is obviously for a football player, but also for a person of great character a person who had goals in life and worked toward those goals," Totten said.
As determined Hamlin was to make it to the NFL, he was equally determined to keep giving back, Totten said, and regularly comes back to Central Catholic High School during football camp.
Totten recalls when Hamlin was selected by the Buffalo Bills as a sixth-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. While his odds of making it into the league weren't completely secured, he told his former high school coach "quietly but confidently" that he'd make the roster and succeed.
Hamlin did make the team, saw success on special teams, then shifted into the role of safety. His No. 3 jersey now hangs in Central Catholic's weight room alongside other NFL players who attended the school. That includes Cal Adomitis, Rodney Thomas II, and Curt Hinish, all from the Class of 2017, plus Dan Marino, Class of 1979.
"[Damar] did it without fanfare without headlines, he did it just because he wanted to accomplish his goals," Totten added.
"He loved his hometown of McKees Rocks, the community here at Central Catholic. He loved Pittsburgh, he loved the University of Pittsburgh, and he's certainly represented us well."