Texans’ DeMeco Ryans receives Community Champions award: ‘I know I’m a Houstonian’

HOUSTON – Texans coach DeMeco Ryans was honored at City Hall with a Community Champions award.

A former NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, Pro Bowl selection and second-round draft pick, Ryans and his wife, Jamila, operate a charitable foundation devoted to providing educational, recreational and health initiatives for youth development. The foundation has provide shopping experiences for Houston children and partnered with other charities, including quarterback C.J. Stroud’s foundation for a Thanksgiving event.

“Houston is home, my wife is from Houston, I’ve been in Houston since 2006, so I know I’m a Houstonian,” Ryans said during the event. “This is such a huge honor for not only myself, but me and my wife, and just the work that we aspire to do in the community.

“It was really important to me when we got the opportunity to lead this organization, the Houston Texans, it was important for me not only to make it about football, but it was always about the impact that myself, my wife could have in the community. It’s about inspiring those who come behind us. Because we stand on the shoulders of those who came before us.”

Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com