450 kids. dozens of coaches and three professional football players from the nfl have all gathered for a camp. derrick coleman is a fullback for the seattle seahawks. he also holds a unique place in the nfl record books that has nothing to do with touchdowns scored or yards gained. derrick is the third deaf player in nfl history and the first to play offense in the league. on the field, normal people range seven, eight, nine. without my hearing aids, i m one, two. one out of every two cases of hearing losses in babies is due to genetic causes. derrick s parents both have normal hear bug they are each missing a hearing gene. it resulted in a decline in derrick s hearing. by the time he was 3 years old
reporter: derrick coleman, living a boy s dream, playing in the nfl for the seattle seahawks. he didn t start playing football until seventh grade, because his mom really didn t want him to. just a normal kid. i was just going out trying to play football. reporter: the dream of making it to the pros began in high school. there he was ranked the number two fullback in the nation by espn. i wasn t really thinking about it so much until maybe my senior year. going out and playing hard. i just wanted to play. reporter: next stop, ucla where he was a running back for four years. his college career ended with a degree in political science. and now the 23-year-old is showing his versatility as a fullback for the seahawks. scoring his first touchdown in the pros earlier this season. he s gotten this far with lots of hard work, and by overcoming something only two other players in the entire nfl have. he is legally deaf. the result of a rare genetic
and so far, it s a strange one. hundreds of thousands without power in the northeast while it s t-shirt weather in new york city. we ll go live to central park nerks. but, first, every day people overcome odds to achieve their passion. gu hear this. that s what derek coleman has done. dr. sanjay gupta has his reaction. derrick coleman is living a boy s dream. playing in the nfl for the top team in the league? the seattle sealauks. he didn t play football until seventh grade because hiz mom didn t want him to. i was just a normal kid. he was ranked a number two fullback in the nation by espn.
in political science. he is showing his versatility as a fullback for the seahawks. and he s only the third player in nfl history to be legally deaf. so, how does he do it? on the field, he makes no excuses. i can read lips. and i can read lips very well. so what i do, when i can t hear something, i ll always go and make sure i m looking at the person, the person who i know, the quarterback, whoever, they look at me. reporter: his skull cap keeps his hearing aids in place. i m basically just like all of you guys. reporter: off the field coleman tries to make time to speak to deaf and hard of hearing children to offer words of encouragement especially those who might be struggling. don t let it be an excuse for not wanting to go for your dream, whatever your dream is. certain people, in my opinion, they always find a way. if you want to be in that circle, you have to find a way.
yankee stadium. happy holidays to you and yours. thank you so much. appreciate it very much. pastor joel osteen, thank you very much. and coming up. really healthy holiday food with richard blais. but first, today s human factor. derek coleman doesn t always hear the roar of the crowd, the din of the stadium dark. when i was 3, i haven t heard ever since. reporter: he s legally deaf as a result of a rare genetic disorder but that didn t stop him from having a regular childhood. i was a normal kid going out and playing football. in high school espn ranked him as a number two fullback in the nation, and he started thinking about playing in the pros. . i wasn t thinking about it too much. and i was just going out there and playing hard. i just wanted to play. he was a running back at ucla for four years. after graduating with a degree