Former Notre Dame star goes full circle with Rams legend, and it ends with a prestigious honor
As we watch the greatest NFL players each Sunday, and seemingly every day of the week now, fans often lose sight of the fact that they are people. We tend to mythicise and make them something unrelatable. Then every once in a while, we get a glimpse into the people that make the sport of […]
As we watch the greatest NFL players each Sunday, and seemingly every day of the week now, fans often lose sight of the fact that they are people. We tend to mythicise and make them something unrelatable. Then every once in a while, we get a glimpse into the people that make the sport of football so great.
On Thursday, former St. Louis Rams star running back Steven Jackson visited the current Rams squad, and delivered an honor that meant a lot to him. He announced that former Notre Dame running Kyren Williams was the Rams nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year honoree, an award that Jackson himself was nominated for back in 2012.
It wasn’t just a former Rams running back delivering great news to a modern player of the same position. No, for Jackson, this meant a lot more. He delivered a story during his time as a player, and a program called 39 Wishes. It was designed to give young kids in the community an opportunity to enjoy the gameday atmosphere.
Jackson stood there with an overheard projector that showed himself and a younger boy on a gameday. It just so happened that young boy was Williams, who grew up in St. Louis. As you can imagine, Williams grew up as a Rams fan with his roots in St. Louis, and obviously the team was based there at the time. This allowed for a full circle moment.
After a stellar career with the Fighting Irish, Williams has developed into one of the better running backs in the NFL over the last couple of years. He is on pace for his second straight 1,000-yard season, currently sitting with 926 yards on the ground and 10 touchdowns. That is a year removed from earning Pro Bowl honors last season.
On top of being a tremendous football player, Williams is also a tremendous member of the community. Having this moment with Jackson, who was a childhood idol of him, is one of the cooler stories in the NFL recently.
