By Ahmad Goree
Texas Metro News
DESOTO-It was a nice 80-degree Saturday at Zeiger Park in DeSoto, where hundreds gathered to meet hometown great Von Miller during his seventh annual “Von Miller Day.” Miller played football for DeSoto High School and went on to play at Texas A&M University, before being selected second overall pick by the Denver Broncos in the 2011 NFL Draft.
He would later become a two-time Super Bowl champion and MVP in Super Bowl 50.
Parents brought their children dressed in shirts and jerseys from Miller’s teams: the Buffalo Bills, Denver Broncos, and Los Angeles Rams, hoping to catch him for a photo and/or autograph.
Not only did Miller honor every autograph request, but he also offered some words of advice to the next generation of athletes.
“You’ve got to be a trailblazer and you’ve got to make your own footsteps,” said Miller. “Never take ‘no’ for an answer, know that nothing in life is by coincidence but you still have to work hard just to buy your ticket to play the game.”
Joining Miller at the park was another hometown hero; Corey Borner.
“It’s a blessing to even have Von Miller and shout to the mayor to bless Von with his day,” said Borner, a former DeSoto High School football player who was injured and paralyzed during a game in 2019.
Borner, who also has his own day in DeSoto encouraged youth to “always put God first and always have a Plan B because Plan A might not always work.”
The celebration featured several vendors, food trucks, and giveaways that included Dallas Cowboys tickets.
Vendors were University of North Texas Health Science Center (HSC), Texas Freedom Network (TFN) and Texas Rising. HSC provided information on free MRIs, blood work, and the opportunity to get paid to participate in their research program.
TFN along with Texas Rising, non-partisan organizations, were providing voting information and voter registration.
“We are out today in the community to make sure voters have an opportunity to update their registration,” said Sharon Wright Jackson, of TFN and Texas Rising.
Additionally, DeSoto made national headlines this week when native and University of Texas’ defensive tackle Byron Murphy II was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft.
This wasn’t a surprise by Miller when asked how he felt about all of the talent coming out of DeSoto, responded, “It’s great man, it shows you that something is in the water here in DeSoto, back-to-back state championships, we got the first-rounder, multiple players in the NFL, coaches too now.”
“It is an honor and privilege to be from here and to be associated with DeSoto and Dallas.”
