ESPNHS honors 18 male teen athletes who are doing remarkable things on the field, in the classroom and in their communities. Click here to read about them.
Dorial Green-Beckham shattered the
national mark with 6,447 receiving yards. He holds just about every receiving record in Missouri, from yards in a game to career touchdowns. Heck, he even has basketball and track state titles sitting amid his crowded case of trophies. It's safe to say the nation's No. 3 recruit is destined to play on Sundays.
But believe it or not, all of the accolades and potential pale in comparison to what the Hillcrest (Springfield, Mo.) senior has
overcome off the field. With his father out of the picture and mother struggling with drugs, the 18-year-old Green-Beckham bounced around foster homes, sometimes sleeping on the floor among people he barely knew. His final stop was the house of Hillcrest football coach John Beckham, who officially adopted DGB in 2010.
The trials didn't stop there, though. Last year, Green-Beckham's younger brother and best friend, Darnell, was diagnosed with cancer. Through it all, Green-Beckham kept smiling, kept persevering and kept receiving unprecedented attention for a recruit from the Show Me State. Now, after signing with Missouri, the SEC's newest member, Tigers fans want DGB to show them the same skills that made him one of the greatest high school players of all time.
The pressure is big and the expectations are bigger, but that should be no sweat for a talent like Green-Beckham. He's already made a career out of playing for something greater.