Meet CBS Miami Nat Moore Trophy nominee Homestead WR Cortez Mills
CBS News Miami is once again on the hunt for the most outstanding high school football player in South Florida. This week's Nat Moore Trophy nominee goes to Homestead wide receiver Cortez Mills, who relies on family for his success on the football field.
And he is learning to mentor those around him.
Mills, who played in a state championship game last year, has the stats as the leading receiver with 79 passes for 1,640 yards and 18 touchdowns.
"Every time I'm playing football, I'm at peace, and I just feel good," Mills said. "And I mean things I want to accomplish this year is a, you know, take my team to a state title."
He has a lot he wants to accomplish in his senior year — and it's all in honor of one person.
Out of his seven siblings – five of them brothers -- his late sister, Kaeshelat got him into football.
"My sister, who passed away," he said. "She wanted me to play football. She saw the talent in me, and she took me out there to the park. She had just seen me playing street football when I was young, like 4 years old, and then she just decided to take me out there and sign me up.
"Without her, I probably would have never got into it at 4 years old. Once she passed away, that just like put a chip on my shoulder and I just grunt ever since then."
Now he says he feels responsible for her two kids. It's his goal to make it to that next level to take care of them, like their mom or his sister, did for him.
Mills wants to move his family out of the hood and she wouldn't need to work anymore. "Shout out to her, because she does everything for me," Mills said. "I mean, she'll give me the shirt off her back."
The support in his family runs deep
It motivates him on game day and will continue to as he works toward a state championship and the ultimate goal, the NFL.
"The love I got for the game is outstanding," he said. "It's like, you know this piece for me, so I'm just leave everything I got in me on that field."
You too can nominate your favorite high school football player at NatMooreTrophy.com.
