Hero Spotlight: Otis Hudson

November 26, 2025

This fall, 524 athletes ran the Bank of America Chicago Marathon on behalf of Mercy Home. Known as Mercy Home Heroes, these runners form a community of friends who go the extra mile for our young people, raising donations through their efforts that support our mission. Below is a spotlight on one of this year’s Heroes, former NFL lineman Otis Hudson.  

Looking at family photographs from his trip to Disney World, Otis Hudson wanted to change. The former NFL player weighed 396 pounds and didn’t feel like himself anymore. 

“My feet hurt, and I realized that I had no neck and my belly was crazy,” Hudson said. … “[Because] my feet hurt … I would buy different shoes…But then I realized it wasn’t the shoes; it was because I was severely obese, and my body isn’t used to being this out of shape.”

Hudson began suffering from sleep apnea, and his traditional weightlifting workouts didn’t help. That’s when he decided that he wanted to run the 2025 Bank of America Chicago Marathon. After playing professional football, Hudson said he knew his body better than anyone and stuck to his own training program. 

“I had a training coach,” he said. “And I joined a running club, which was really helpful. I tried to get in 30-35 miles per week.”

Born and raised in Chicago, Hudson was always an athlete. He grew up liking basketball but played sports primarily as a way to see his friends. As a freshman in high school, he ran the 200-meter race and won. 

“I never did it again,” he said. “And I didn’t stop because I was tired of it. I just didn’t do it because I felt like, oh my god, this competition sucks. It was nothing about running. So no, I was not a runner, but I was always fast. Like, very fast.”

Hudson moved to Barrington, Ill., for his junior year and started for the Barrington High School varsity football team, where he received a scholarship to play football for the University of Minnesota. He played in four games as a reserve defensive lineman in 2007 before moving to the offensive line. On defense, he had three tackles and forced a fumble against Ohio State.

“I had a good experience at Minnesota,” Hudson said “It was up and down. Like I always felt that I should have started as a freshman, but we all feel that way.” 

At Minnesota, Hudson underwent a coaching change and didn’t feel the stability that he wanted and decided to transfer closer to home to Eastern Illinois. 

As a redshirt junior, he started nine games at right tackle and then made 12 starts as a senior. Scouts started interviewing him during his senior year, but his focus remained on the team. And when draft day came around, Hudson had no idea if he would get selected. 

But in the fifth round of the 2010 NFL Draft, the Cincinnati Bengals drafted Hudson. 

“The day that I got drafted was a surreal feeling,” Hudson said. “I knew how much work that I had put into it, but I didn’t know what the outcome was going to be. But it doesn’t really hit you until they send you the playbook, and there’s 350 pages to learn. Then it’s go time.”

Hudson said that his favorite moment from his professional football career was meeting the players he grew up watching and also attending the rookie symposium. At the symposium, players from his draft class traveled to San Diego to learn about the business of football.

“[They told us] football is a business. It’s no longer just a sport,” he said. “You are your personal brand. They talked to us about finances, friendships, and relationships. I learned a lot about how to manage a lot of relationships after I got done playing.”

Hudson was a member of the Bengals until 2013 before signing with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2014 until a back injury ended his NFL career early. 

After football, Hudson received his master’s degree in business administration and became a financial advisor in Chicago. But in 2023, he decided to sign up for the Chicago Marathon. 

Hudson didn’t finish. 

“It was horrible,” he said. 

But after looking for a youth-focused organization to support while running the Chicago Half Marathon, Hudson found Mercy Home. His experience growing up on Chicago’s West Side before moving to the suburbs in the middle of high school helped him empathize with the challenges that Mercy Home’s young people have faced.  Hudson told NBC5 Chicago that he had learned to navigate the street life in his earlier years.  He said his family has donated to Mercy Home in the past and in 2025, decided to give the marathon another shot. Despite injuring his foot and walking parts of the race, Hudson finished.

“When I got to the 400-meter mark, I got a little emotional,” he said. 

Since he started his wellness training journey, Hudson is down 85 pounds and wants to participate in the New York City half marathon as a Mercy Home Hero. 

“After reading and researching more about it, I realized it was a really good cause and will always be open to helping the children,” Hudson said. 

While Hudson is proud of himself, he also wants to improve his time. He plans to sign up for the 2026 Chicago Marathon. We look forward to cheering him on next fall along with the hundreds of Mercy Home Heroes as they pass by our Home on the city’s Near West Side.