Kansas City Chiefs center Cameron Erving gets down with current Colquitt County High defensive lineman Brian Merritt encouraging footwork among the hundred or so campers at Friday’s first Cam Erving Football Camp in the new indoor athletic facility on campus.

MOULTRIE – Learn. Have fun. That was for the youngsters. Be a positive role model setting the right example. That was for the older folks.

But let there be no doubt about it: Cameron Erving was having a lot of fun, dancing around, smiling and making new friends and fans of his Kansas City Chiefs team.

On Friday, the former Colquitt County High Packer and Florida State Seminole hosted his first youth football camp inside his Moultrie alma mater’s new indoor practice facility. A slew of youngsters showed up with a lot of the instruction coming from current Packers like Brian Merritt, KT Wilson, Marvion McDonald, Kamaar Bell, Jerrick Davis, Kam Woods, Jay Ward, Camari Louis, Will Rykard and others. They stepped over small hurdles, ran with parachutes on their backs and either caught or dove after footballs at the various stations.

Erving was a part of the first Colquitt County football team led by head coach Rush Propst, and he was the first ever from this program to be selected No. 1 in the National Football League Draft. The 2018 season will mark his second with the Chiefs after a 2017 trade from the Cleveland Browns.

While playing in the NFL – and even at a major program like Florida State where he won the 2014 BCS title game – Erving still makes frequent visits to Colquitt County, and he was thrilled to be able to give something back in time and resources. He got serious, though, when talking about what he sees going on in his home community and the impact he is looking to make.

“I get back pretty often,” said Erving. “It’s always good to be able to come back and do something like this and have a good impact on the youth in the community.”

After Erving graduated from Colquitt County, Packer football reached unprecedented levels of success with two undefeated state title seasons in a row. Plus, the new indoor facility opened earlier this year with one other new football field and track at the new high school.

While Erving said, yes, a lot has changed, he added some of it was for the good, some for the worse.

“The school and the program are thriving,” he said. “But there are still a lot of young kids out there getting in trouble. There’s a lot of things going on that’s affected the community because a lot of those guys are athletes who have gotten in trouble.”

It results, he said, in a lot of “could have been” and “should have been.” So Erving’s back to spread a message.

“Regardless of what you do or how you do it, as long as you are passionate about something, you go chase it, whatever avenue you choose,” said Erving. “I want to be an example. But I don’t want them to think it’s always because of football. Football has been my avenue and a blessing to me and my family. But whatever you want to do, be it a realtor, construction, a doctor, a lawyer, there are so many opportunities out there. You just have to go try to find it.

“I want them to understand the biggest thing is you get your grades, stay in school and take it serious. Life is no joke. When it comes at you, it hits you hard.”

For Erving, football has meant discipline and character building. He was molded by sports. His attitude showed out there with his campers with the running around and playing.

“Just so they know it’s not so far-fetched a guy in the NFL can come back to your hometown,” said Erving. “I want them to know I’m from here, and I was just like them. I had to make the same decisions they have to make. I had a good background, a good family, and a lot of these kids don’t have that. But anybody can make it as long as you put your mind to it.”

Erving is a part of a league riddled with issues, some that need to be stressed to youth. Safety in playing the game and health are things Erving himself must take that into consideration, but it’s still a game he loves.

“It’s a generational game,” he said. “But the game is also ever changing. There’s going to be changes in the future, and there are changes made now going into the season that are going to be big for the NFL, and college, and high school. Safety is definitely a concern. But you can’t really think about that or you will wind up getting hurt.”

Should money be a motivating factor to play? Not everyone can get to the NFL, and certainly not get a Matt Ryan-like contract.

“I had someone once tell me you get to play a kid’s game for a king’s ransom,” said Erving. “So many people look up to us. We don’t ask to be examples, but God’s put us in a position, and it’s our obligation to make sure we give back to where we came from.”

And, again, to tell them about all the possible professions out there.

Propst spoke to the campers before the warm-ups encouraging them to stay involved in football at whatever grade level they are in, plus he invited them to see Colquitt County High games this season.

They may also be watching Kansas City whenever they appear on television. Erving said he’s going to compete for the starting center position and that there’s a lot of hard work ahead of him to be ready for training camp.

“That’s always the plan,” said Erving about the Chiefs going to the Super Bowl.