Meet ‘Baby Gronk’, the 10-year-old kid billed as college football’s next big thing

A 10-year-old social media sensation, better known as “Baby Gronk,” has been heralded as college football’s “next big thing” and has even been spotted hanging out with Olivia Dunne, actor Mark Wahlberg, and sitting courtside at NBA- matches .

For most of the past few months, Madden San Miguel has been driven through the most popular college towns in the US by his father, Jake, to go on an unofficial tour where he could play when he turns 18, and participate in educational soccer camps for young people.

For those who don’t know, ‘Baby Gronk’ is turning into something of a social media influencer, with thousands of followers on Instagram.

He is also considered noticeably taller and heavier than most kids his age and uses his large frame to get around opponents, leading his followers to believe that many college football programs across the country are already interested in seriously recruiting him.

On Instagram, he has shared photos of himself posing with ex-NBA star and media personality Shaquille O’Neal, actor and producer Mark Wahlberg, and Olivia Dunne, a college gymnast for LSU who also has lucrative NIL deals signed after she went viral on social media. for her talent and looks.

“I already had a plan for my son before he was born,” Baby Gronk’s dad told me The athletic. “It’s playing now.”

But what exactly is the hype behind this elementary school football prodigy? Is he okay? How did he get access to all these celebrities? And are colleges and universities trying to recruit him at such a tender age?

Here, DailyMail. com takes a look at college football’s ‘next big thing’…

Who is he?

Madden San Miguel, aka “Baby Gronk,” hails from Dallas, Texas and is a 10-year-old football prodigy commonly referred to as a “baby version” of retired NFL star Rob Gronkowsi, also known as “Gronk.”

And despite being years away from graduating from high school, “Baby Gronk”‘s father, Jake, has taken the fourth-grader across the country on unofficial visits to various colleges and universities.

Madden is also familiar with the pressure that comes with being labeled “the next big thing” in American sports. He has been called a “future football SUPERSTAR” since he was six years old and has more than 319k followers on his verified Instagram account.

The kid sensation also plays five sports, according to his father, stands 4 feet 4 inches tall and weighs 88 pounds per Sportskeeda.

“He’s a very humble kid,” Jake San Miguel told The Athletic. “A lot of people don’t know this about him, but he’s a better baseball player than a football player. He is a very humble boy. Student with perfect grades.

“The internet shows one thing, but he’s the guy you want in your house. He’s that boy.’

Jake’s grandfather was incarcerated for murder and his father is also behind bars according to him Bay news 9. The father of “Baby Gronk” told the Florida outlet that he is “trying to break the family curse.” Madden would also have a sister.

How did he become famous?

Founded three years ago, ‘Baby Gronk”s Instagram account is managed by his father, who posts content from his son on a daily basis. Jake previously revealed that he had a blueprint for his son before he was even born.

“I talked about how I was going to train him, how I was going to discipline him, how I was going to build character, how I was going to build work ethic,” the 36-year-old told Bay News 9 in Tampa, Florida. in January.

What he eventually built is an internet superstar for now, and people can’t seem to get enough of “Baby Gronk” towering over kids his age and going out to dominate them on a soccer field.

As Madden’s social media accounts grew, so did the popularity of Baby Gronk, who had already signed endorsement deals and interacted with NFL stars, rappers, and even Miss Florida.

“I used to be in the music industry,” Jake, Madden’s father, told The Athletic. “I already knew how to market and promote and edit the Internet. I knew what I was doing. I was a star in high school – like the story of Boobie Miles (in “Friday Night Lights”) – but I know how to train kids and get kids to exercise well.

“I knew my son was going to be pretty good at sports because he’d be around it. I put the music industry with the athlete and I saw the NIL coming and I saw the climate changing. […] I’m pretty good at this internet thing.’

Though Madden has yet to meet Rob Gronkowski, a hangout is in the works. ‘Baby Gronk’ has grown his social media platform through viral videos, such as when he pulled a pickup truck with a rope, which garnered over 20 million views. Since then he hasn’t looked back.

Who was he seen with?

With over 130,000 subscribers on YouTube, and just over double on Instagram, ‘Baby Gronk’ has been offered to meet various celebrities, former NFL professionals, and current athletes, due to his rising fame as well as his father’s connections.

“The gym we train in, all the celebrities and NFL players go there,” Jake told The Athletic. “I met Tony Pollard, Derrick Henry, I met Julius Randle there. (Ezekiel Elliott) and Dak (Prescott) live close to us. My friend is Dak’s personal barber, so he cuts Dak, (Michael) Gallup, Pollard. I know Amari Cooper. I’ve been around.’

The fourth-grader even posed for a photo with Shaquille O’Neal during an NBA courtside game involving the Houston Rockets. He’s also met Olivia Dunne, who he’s “in love with” and even “asked out to prom.”

‘He met her [LSU’s] campus. … We know her,” Jake went on to tell The Athletic about his son’s meet-and-greet with the LSU gymnast, who has 4.1 million followers on Instagram. ‘[Through] common friends.’

‘Baby Gronk’ also met two-time Academy Award nominee, actor and producer, Mark Wahlberg and has also posed for snaps with rapper Fetty Wap, as well as New York Yankees star Aaron Judge and ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith.

Among the popular football players, Madden met Mykal Walker of the Atlanta Falcons, Luther Burden of Missouri and Evan Steward of Texas A&M.

Is he actually good?

Despite being in the spotlight, Madden has enjoyed success on the field, having competed in an 8-U National Flag Football Championship in Tampa, Florida.

His team from Frisco, Texas – a suburb of Dallas – scored a perfect six and won their age group, with ‘Baby Gronk’ playing a key role in his side’s run to claim it all. Furthermore, due to his young age, not much is known about the ‘next big thing’ in football, but according to his father, he is destined to reach the top.

“He moves better than high school students. He just doesn’t have the same body,” Jake told The Athletic. He plays three grades higher. When he gets on the field, he’s the real thing. You need to think about this. He has a large number of followers and a large platform, so when he plays against children, they are waiting for a highlight about him so that they can post it.

“We’ve been doing this for four years. There’s a reason there aren’t any highlights on him. He really puts a lot of work into it. It’s not just for the content. We train five or six days a week. He diets, he eats clean foods, salmon and brown rice. He’s in a routine. He’s a real athlete. He’s not a normal kid.

Normal kids are emotional. They bend when they make mistakes, talk back to the coaches, they make noises, but he doesn’t. He has been trained and programmed since he was six years old.’

‘Baby Gronk’s’ social media accounts and popularity grew as he made unofficial visits to schools with prestigious football programs, such as the University of Florida, the University of Texas and the University of Kentucky, where he would take to the field to train.

In sophomore grade, he even committed to playing football at the University of Oregon. Madden’s father also claims that his son “got a real offer, from Arizona, an oral offer.”

‘I can reach everyone. The wife of Donald Trump’s son is following my son,” he added.

“It’s bigger than people think and it’s only getting bigger. He was posted to TMZ today. It’s probably one of the bigger things on the internet as an influencer.

“He could be taller than Bronny James.”