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          NFL Nation

          Christian McCaffrey and his dad surprise military family for Father's Day

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          Darnold, Barkley, McCaffrey and Allen link up for workout (0:16)

          Jets QB Sam Darnold and Redskins QB Kyle Allen fire passes to Saquon Barkley and Christian McCaffrey in a workout at UCLA. (0:16)

          • David Newton, ESPN Staff WriterJun 18, 2020, 09:30 PM
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              David Newton is an NFL reporter at ESPN and covers the Carolina Panthers. Newton began covering Carolina in 1995 and came to ESPN in 2006 as a NASCAR reporter before joining NFL Nation in 2013. You can follow Newton on Twitter at @DNewtonespn.
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          CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey doesn’t hide that his father, former NFL wide receiver Ed McCaffrey, played a major role in who he is as a man and a football player.

          “I always wanted to be like my dad," McCaffrey said.

          So the two couldn’t wait when USAA and the USO of North Carolina asked them to be a part of a Father’s Day surprise for a military dad and his daughter, both of whom are Panthers fans.

          It happened virtually when they were introduced to Gunnery Sergeant Jeremy and his adopted daughter, Senior Airman Ella. Because both are active duty -- Jeremy at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and Ella at Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, Virginia -- their last names couldn’t be used.

          But judging by the video McCaffrey posted on social media, the surprise was the perfect Father’s Day gift for both.

          “There aren’t many higher callings," a teary-eyed Jeremy said on the video. “I have deployed. I had a lot of responsibility on my name, and there’s not really a greater calling out there than to be a family man, to be a father."

          Said Ella: “For me, it’s very meaningful because he chose to be my dad."

          McCaffrey has spent a lot of time with his dad the past few months during the coronavirus pandemic. They’ve trained together, along with McCaffrey’s brothers Luke and Dylan, at their childhood home in Colorado.

          “A lot of people say the only reason I’m good and I’m playing is because of my dad," McCaffrey said in a 2015 interview with SI. “I felt like that was some pressure, but at the same time I realized it was such a blessing. My father did nothing ... but support me."

          This past week, the father-son combo offered support to a father-daughter combo serving the United States.

          “You guys are our heroes," Ed said in the video.