Rams rookie Puka Nacua is on the verge of making NFL history Sunday in the sport his family loves.
Before his death 12 years ago, Nacua's father instilled the love of football in the star receiver. Now, Nacua's mother, Penina, is his guiding force and biggest cheerleader.
Penina has traveled to her son's games in Los Angeles, New York and Dallas and is amazed by the spotlight that sits on her son and has even extended to her as fans now ask to take pictures with her.
"You know, he’s not trying to do anything extra. He didn’t go to the NFL hoping he would do XYZ to break records," she said. "So, it is exciting. It’s exciting and it makes me proud. I miss that his dad’s not here. I wish my husband was really here, physically, so that he could just hug Puka and just see him in his element now."
While the former Cougar has taken the NFL and Los Angeles by storm — getting shout-outs from LeBron James — his mother says he is still the same man.
"He honestly is still the same Puka," she said. "When I saw him in New York City, he was holding my hand as we were taking a picture. That’s the kid I know that would be at Orem High, standing at the fence waving to me and I could wave back and say, ‘I love you, son,’ and he’d tell me he loved me. He’s never been shy about just sharing his love or expressing his feelings to me."