His mother, Audrey Garrett, was an All-American track star at Hampton and his older sister, Brea, won a 2014 NCAA indoor championship in the weight throw as a junior at Texas A&M. His older brother, Sean Williams, played college basketball at Boston College and was the 17th pick in the 2007 NBA Draft.

Family successes — and failures — have forever influenced Texas A&M defensive lineman Myles Garrett.

Brea was a heavy influence in Myles’ decision to attend Texas A&M, often spending time in the football office to give tips to the Aggie coaches on his recruitment, according to this story by Sports Illustrated.

Myles followed Brea to College Station, where he had an extraordinary freshman season for the Aggies.  He led the team in QB sacks (11.5), tackles for loss (14.0) and QB hurries (9), and was second among defensive linemen with 53 tackles. The sack number eclipsed Jadeveon Clowney’s SEC freshman record of 8.0 in 2011.

After a year in the Aggies’ program Garrett has a superhero’s measurables. He can run the 40 in 4.46 seconds and broad-jump 10’ 9½​” and has a 38½​-inch vertical—all better than the marks than Clowney put up at the NFL combine after his junior year at South Carolina, before the Texans drafted him No. 1. … “There’s no reason he couldn’t be the first guy taken in the draft,” says [Texas A&M strength coach Larry] Jackson. “I told him if it doesn’t happen, it’s because he didn’t allow it to happen.”

Myles idolized his older brother by 10 years and often spent summer vacations in New Jersey after the Nets drafted Williams. The brothers played video games and competed on the court as well.

In 2011-12, when Sean was playing for the Mavericks, the brothers often squared off at the team facility. One day Sean’s agent, Bernie Lee, got a call from Dallas GM Donnie Nelson. “You have to tell Sean to stop bringing his friend in to play one-on-one,” Nelson told Lee. “We’re scared they are going to hurt each other.” Nelson didn’t know who the friend was but guessed he was Sean’s bodyguard. Myles had just turned 16.

Williams’ entry to the NBA was a bit premature, as Boston College tossed him from the team during his junior season for a rules violation, reportedly drug-related. Those issues have continued to haunt Williams through his pro career, and he’s been visiting John Lucas’ addition clinic since his Boston College incident.

“All things being equal, and he didn’t have the smoking issue, he could have easily been a 12- to 13-year NBA guy,” Providence coach Ed Cooley told Sports Illustrated.

Instead, Williams has spent the last two years playing in Turkey.

Garrett has seen Williams’ struggles first-hand:

Myles remembers approaching a Chevrolet Avalanche with smoke pluming from its windows. He was around 12, and as he pleaded with the man inside to stop smoking weed, tears streaked his face. Sean, then a 6’10”, 235-pound shot-blocking power forward for the Nets, had heard his little brother make this request many times before but never heeded him. “Definitely not,” Williams, 28, says when asked if he maximized his potential. “I let bad decisions get in the way, [let] smoking so much get in the way.”

Garrett told Sports Illustrated he’s never tried marijuana and doesn’t drink. His vices include dinosaurs, video games and Netflix.

“My brother was an example for what not to do,” Garrett told SI. “The weed, it’s a distraction. A lot of other things can be distractions—girls, other drugs, fame and ego. I don’t want any of that to distract me from my main goal, which is going to the NFL and being the best defensive lineman or player who ever played.”