CSU Rams Find Inspiration In Smallest Teammate
FORT COLLINS, Colo. (CBS4) - Colorado State University's Division I football program is clearly on a roll. How else would one explain the team's 10-1 record (for just the second time in school history), a current nine-game winning streak, quarterback and Heisman aspirant Garrett Grayson's school record-breaking 8,913 yards of total offense, Rashard Higgins' school record 1,447 receiving yards, and two trophy game wins?
When you ask CSU defensive back Bernard Blake to explain the team's unexpected success this season, his answer may surprise you. The senior from Bastrop, Texas, credits the Rams' gains to a teammate who, technically, never suits up for a game. That teammate is 9-year-old Jack Miller, of Louisville.
Miller wears No. 1 for Colorado State, and is listed on the roster as a 4-foot, 53-pound running back from a nearby elementary school. He's got his own trading card and bio on the team's website, too.
"You often hear, when people describe their hero, it's like Superman, Batman, someone that has all these types of powers," Blake says. "My hero is in the form of Jack Miller."
Miller joined the Rams in 2013 through an organization called the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation, which matches children fighting pediatric brain tumors with college and high school sports teams.
Shortly after Miller was born, he went through two surgeries to fix a heart defect. A few years later, doctors discovered tumors in his brain. He's gone through chemotherapy treatments on and off ever since, says Jack's father, Darin Miller.
While Jack takes a break from treatments, he spends Saturdays with the team. When Jack joined the team, Darin says he was not sure what to expect.
"It's been a lot of fun," Darin Miller says, "I think that's the best part about it."
In the two seasons Miller's spent with the team, he's grown close with Blake. The two exchange emails before every game, Miller usually signing off with "good luck, and go Rams!" Blake says the team takes Miller's encouragement to heart.
"When you know a situation like Jack's, it makes you realize the opportunities and the blessings you have in your everyday life, not only on the field, but off the field," Blake says.
During Saturday's win over the New Mexico Lobos, Miller took part in the team's Senior Day honors.
Blake hoisted Miller onto his shoulders, carrying him across the field after the game to sing the university's alma mater with the team, high-fiving players, and meeting Blake's family.
If the relationship between the CSU Rams and Jack Miller started as a way to brighten Miller's days, Blake says it has had the same effect on him and his teammates.
