Lions Rookie Ennis Rakestraw Jr. Has Awesome Call Back To Promise Made To Teacher About Making It To NFL

Published|Updated

When the Detroit Lions drafted Ennis Rakestraw Jr. in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft, it not only fulfilled a dream for the standout defensive back, but also made good on a promise he made to one of his teachers many years ago.

Rakestraw, who played four seasons at Missouri, wrote a letter to his fourth grade teacher, Mr. Gammon, promising him that he'd talk about him if he made it to the league. He hilariously added the caveat that he'd only talk about his former teacher if he was alive.

"Dear Mr. Gammon, you are the best teacher ever. You always had and have my back and you give me confidence. When my little brother had a sejere (seizure) you gave me food and snacks," Rakestraw's letter began. 

"I wish I didn’t want to leave you but I have to but I hope you come and see me at Daniel please. Come see me I hope to you miss me like I miss you and I hope your alive because if I make it to a proffosinal football player. I will talk about you Mr. gammon. Please give me your phone number before I go.(sic)"

Good news, Mr. Gammon is still alive.

He was made aware of Rakestraw's post on social media and had nothing but fine things to say about his former student.

"You put it out there at 10 years old and made it happen!!! I have no words for how proud I am of you! Also, I’m telling everyone I played with and against you and threw multiple touchdowns to you and on you. Yes, it was recess… but it's technically true!

Stories like this of professional athletes making a promise to themselves and others when they're kids about making it big are nothing new, but they're awesome every single time. For Rakestraw to get a hold of the actual letter he wrote all the way back in fourth grade is incredible.

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.