We Are Herriman - Sam Gordon

March 2018 You probably saw Sam Gordon on YouTube in 2012 as a nine-year-old, whizzing past boys on her way to 35 touchdowns in her youth tackle football league. Now, at 14 and a freshman at Herriman High, she was the recipient of the NFL Honors Inaugural Game Changer award, created to celebrate individuals who effect positive change and progress in the football community. The award was presented the night before Super Bowl LII in Minneapolis. Blazing a trail is nothing new to Gordon, who was the first female to win an award at the NFL Honors. In 2015, she launched the Utah Girls Tackle Football League, of which every available spot on every team was filled in less than a day. Today, the league has grown from 50 players to nearly 400, and similar leagues are starting to appear across the nation. "It's amazing that football can let so many different types of girls play it," Gordon said in a video shown at the NFL Honors. "I can see girls' confidence growing as they're playing, and I can see girls having so many more opportunities. Not only can they be players, they can be coaches, they can be commentators, even be the NFL commissioner." Gordon and her father, Brent, are now spearheading a cause to introduce girls football teams in high schools and colleges. In her acceptance speech following a standing ovation from NFL star players, coaches, and executives, Gordon promised she will continue to lead the way for girls in football. "I'm going to fight to see my dream come true," she said. "Utah will be the birthplace of girls' high school football."