Riley Dixon, NFL’s best punter, goes to prom

As you’ve long been aware, former Syracuse Orange punter Riley Dixon was drafted by the Denver Broncos one year ago. And ever since then, he’s shared his gift for being the best with a much wider audience than just our small group of SU fans.

That streak continued this week, when he teamed up with teammates Brandon McManus and former members of the Bachelor cast to give one high school senior a prom he’ll never forget.

Denver-area student Avery Becker needed some friends to go to prom with him (and his date). He suffers from two rare diseases and all of the time in and out of the hospital left him with few options to join him at the prom — and beforehand for pictures, and of course, the ride over as well.

With some help from former Bachelor contestant J.J. Lane, though, he ended up rolling up to prom with an impressive crew. Lane ended up enlisting the help of Ben Higgins and Lauren Bushnell, also from the show. And then McManus, who brought Heisman-winner-in-our-hearts Riley Dixon along, too.

The Broncos covered Avery’s awesome evening, so be sure to check out the full story there. But know that Dixon’s out there being the best at things not just related to football. You do us proud, Riley.

And to Avery, hopefully your prom was a great memory for you to hold onto. It’s no consolation for what you’re going through -- something I couldn’t imagine, for myself or my child. But this bright spot’s well-deserved for a life that deserves many more of them.