When he was in 4th grade in Duncanville, Detroit Lions CB Ennis Rakestraw, Jr. wrote his teacher a letter thanking him and saying, ‘You are the best teacher ever.” The teacher, who is now a principal, was able to join his former student during his NFL draft party in Lancaster.
There are countless kids who dream of being professional football players.
One North Texas boy, Ennis Rakestraw, Jr., was among them, penning his dream in a letter to his then-fourth-grade teacher.
“Dear Mr. Gammon, you are the best teacher ever," reads Derek Gammon.
Gammon says he found the letter when he returned to his classroom from outside duty on the last day of school.
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"Somehow, Ennis had snuck back into the building, I’m not sure how, and that letter was sitting there, and I read it," said Gammon, who was teaching math at Duncanville ISD at the time.
"You always had and have my back and you give me confidence," the letter goes on to say.
"That’s something I think teachers we want to instill in all of our kids," Gammon said.
NFL
But, over a decade later, another line also stands out: "I hope you miss me like I miss you and I hope your(sic) alive because if I make it to be a [professional] football player, I will talk about you."
The author posted a picture of the letter a few days ago, after being drafted to the Detroit Lions.
“To speak that at fourth grade, at 10 years old, and have everything come into fruition and achieve those goals, is special," Gammon said.
Gammon, who is now the principal of Mansfield ISD's Anna May Daulton Elementary School, was able to be part of that moment, standing behind Rakestraw, Jr., during his NFL draft party in Lancaster.
“His village was there and just to hear the eruption of applause, the tears that came … it was electric," Gammon said.
Gammon wants people to know that he's not an anomaly.
"This is the norm for almost every educator out there. We all go above and beyond and do things for our kids all the time," he said.
Rakestraw Jr.'s mom, Shamika Jones, credits Gammon as one of the influential people in her son's life.
“He helped build character. He helped build confidence in a child that, at that time, was unsure," Jones said.
Jones only found out about her son's letter a few months ago, when Gammon sent it to her.
She wasn't surprised about her son's dream and determination at that young age.
Jones said she had Rakestraw just three days before turning 16 years old, and as a single, teen mom, she had a chip on her shoulder that she thinks she passed on to her son.
“I used to beat myself up thinking maybe I put too much on Ennis because I would let him know, ‘The world is saying we can’t do it.," Jones said. “I was torn down, close people to me, I just heard a lot of negativity of what I couldn’t do, what he was not going to do. So, from a young age, I taught him, ‘You’re going to have to be the one to prove the world wrong about us.'"
"From a young age, I taught him, ‘You’re gong to have to be the one to prove the world wrong about us.'"
Shamika Jones, Ennis Rakestraw, Jr.'s mother
Jones said thanks to their village, her son has done that. It's something she still hasn't wrapped her head around.
"I've been waking up since the draft like, 'Shamika, you have an NFL player,'" she said.
A picture from his draft party shows Rakestraw, Jr. turned to his mom, shedding a tear. It was a long-awaited moment for both of them.
"Something in my heart knew that he was going to be special. I just knew it. And all that he had gone through, I just couldn’t see God forsaking him at that moment … I’m trying not to get emotional, sorry," she said.
Jones hopes her son's now-viral letter, and their family's story, inspires others.
“Not only Ennis but with my husband and our other three kids, we can look back at those times and laugh and just thank God, like, ‘You brought me through. I made it over.' Now, my job is to pull some more people over with us. To feel this kind of joy and peace," Jones said.
“I just want to let the world know that anything is possible. It’s true, that mustard seed of faith that they say God asked us for, is true," she added.
She showed NBC Dallas-Fort Worth all the memorabilia that shows her son's -- and her -- journey.
“He says, ‘I got them for you.’ He knows it means so much to me," Jones said.
She walked through just a portion of the keepsakes, spread out on her sister's couch.
“I got a replica of the Duncanville jersey, I’m a super-fan of my kids," she said as she pointed to Rakestraw Jr.'s University of Missouri jerseys, his helmet and his senior football.
Items that show a story, but one that is not yet over, perhaps with more to prove.
“And those are all the bowl rings. Hopefully, I’ll get a Super Bowl ring, soon," Jones said.
