The donation was made during halftime of South Oak Cliff’s homecoming game and one of the recipients was football player Cody Smith.
DALLAS — Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray’s foundation on Thursday surprised two Dallas ISD families with a donation to cover a full year of housing during halftime of South Oak Cliff’s homecoming game .
South Oak Cliff beat Seagoville 48-0, but the donation also marked a big victory for the recipients of Murray’s foundation’s donation: South Oak Cliff football player Cody Smith and his family and Sariya Hashaway and family.
Murray, who was a standout at Allen High School before winning the Heisman Trophy at Oklahoma and becoming the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NFL draft by the Cardinals, wasn’t in attendance, but shared a message.
“Dallas will always be home to me and supporting this community means a lot to me and my foundation,” Kyler said.
Kyler said in his message that the families were chosen “based on their strong commitment to balancing athletics, academics and family life.”
Missy and Kevin Murray made the surprise donation during halftime of the game.
We’ve previously reported on how Smith balances football and family life.
As WFAA previously reported, Smith’s mother died of pancreatic cancer when Smith was 10, and his father died of heart issues a few years later.
After their deaths, Smith and his older brother moved to live with their grandmother. Now, he helps take care of her.
“Help her to a hospital or doctors, dentist. Help around the house with groceries, bills,” said Smith. “We got way closer than we used to be. She’s really the last person I got.”
He’s also a P-Tech scholar earning high school and college credits.
During his high school football career, Smith has been named MaxPreps Defensive Player of the Game.