SAN ANTONIO — The importance of football in Texas is never doubted. From the NFL to college and the storied Friday nights of high school football. Even down to the very beginnings, with youth football.

A few years back, the then Esquire Network wanted to showcase the passion for football at the early stages with the show Friday Night Tykes. The show debuted in 2014 and focused on youth football teams across Texas and mainly in San Antonio. The most successful team featured on that show was the San Antonio Outlaws and their best player was a running back named Myzel Miller.

“As young as him being on the flag team, this kid was amazing,” said Outlaws’ head coach Fred Davis. “He was a special type of talent.”

Myzel was the guy scoring lots of touchdowns and running through kids as the Outlaws were winning championships. As the show gained popularity and continued to put the spotlight on Myzel, the attention around him grew.

“It was a lot,” said Miller. “I would go to the stores and people would say, ‘Hey Myzel’ and want to take a picture.”

His newfound fame was all happening before he was even a teenager. It created an interest and a lofty expectation of what he would become as a football player.

“By him being on the TV show and at one point probably being the most famous youth football player in the world, yes that creates a lot of expectations good and bad,” said Davis. 

There was a lot of praise coming his way for being a good football player, but Coach Davis said there was a lot of hate also that showed up.

“You have a lot of folks say that he’s not that good, they don’t want to see him be successful or he’s going to fizzle out,” said Davis.

It was a lot for a kid to handle and something Myzel had to learn to deal with.

“I know there’s people looking at me but I can’t really think about it and just have to stay me,” said Miller. “If I get out of my character, I’ll start messing up.”

“I think he’s done a great job of adapting to that because he knows that not everybody that is rooting for him is actually rooting for him,” said Davis.

The once heralded youth football star is now entering his senior season of high school. Myzel attended Judson his first two years and played early on for the Rockets as a defensive back. Last season he transferred to Cornerstone Christian in San Antonio and was back to playing offense.

He had a good year, but probably not to the level people were expecting from him and more importantly to the level he wants to be at. He’s entering his final year of high school with a lot to prove.

“To show that I’m still me, nothing’s changed no matter what,” said Miller. “I’m still the same Myzel that’s been playing since I was 4 years old.”

“We haven’t seen the best of Myzel,” said Davis. “I have a lot of faith that he is going to have a breakout senior season.”

Myzel’s current coach at Cornerstone also expects big things from his running back this fall.

“Myzel’s going to play a huge role for us. He’s very dangerous and we have to find a way to get the ball in his hands,” said John Bachman, Cornerstone’s head coach. “He can create matchup problems all over the field.”

Bachman said he never watched the TV show before meeting Myzel, but heard stories about his lore around the city.

“You get this connotation and maybe a false expectation of what to expect from someone that’s been in the limelight since he was 8 years old,” said Bachman. “I was genuinely surprised at how humble and down to earth he is.”

Miller is not the only player from the Friday Night Tykes show that is now at Cornerstone Christian. A whole bunch of the guys who played on the Outlaws are back together as teammates. A few of them include Xion LaGrant, Sedrick ‘Juju’ Thomas, Esteban Guillory and Alan Caracheo. 

“I’m real happy we’re all back together, we just click like that,” said Myzel.

Before he gets to his senior season, Myzel is hoping to build back up the buzz around him by attending college camps this summer. He doesn’t have any offers at the moment but wants to generate that interest, so he can play at the next level.

“That’s like the only thing on my mind. I’m just working out trying to get to my goal,” said Miller. “Prove myself to these coaches and everyone who is doubting me.”

“He’s going to be that kid that is going to be a steal when it comes to the offers that he does get,” said Davis

To this day, Coach Davis says he constantly gets asked “How’s Myzel?” or “What’s Myzel up to?” This is what Myzel Miller is up to.