Kalamazoo — Former MSU football star T.J. Duckett has found a way to give back to his hometown — he has established a football camp at his old stomping ground, Loy Norrix High School.
"First year, you're going to have your bumps and bruises, but so far everything is going smooth. They're learning, listening and playing hard," Duckett said.
About 75 boys from the Kalamazoo area attended the camp.
"It's straight," said 15-year-old Kevin Hunter, who will be a sophomore at Loy Norrix next fall.
Hunter went on to say that he received some great advice from Duckett and the other former MSU football players who were helping out at the camp.
"Work hard, stay fit and try your hardest," Hunter said.
One of the former MSU football players assisting Duckett was fellow running back Little John Flowers. Besides playing together at MSU, the two were also teammates at Loy Norrix and still keep in touch.
"Me and T.J. grew up together. I've known T.J. since I was 7, so he better keep in touch with me, or we're going to have some issues," Flowers said.
Flowers, who played professionally with the New York Jets for four years, is now playing in Europe. He said he was happy with how the camp was going, even without it being highly publicized.
"I'm excited just to see all the kids that I know from when they were little and used to watch me and T.J. play here. But now they're grown, and now they're going to play here — makes me feel a little old," Flowers said.
And it's a good thing that Duckett and Flowers came back to help out with the players because Loy Norrix hasn't been doing that well on the football field lately.
"It's been a rough ride at (Loy) Norrix. I think they have won one game since T.J. and I left," Flowers said. "But we're going to definitely turn it around."
Another familiar face to an MSU football uniform, and wide receiver for the Detroit Lions, is Charles Rogers, who helped run drills and mingled with campers.
"It's great to see T.J. doing this, and I hope he keeps going with it," Rogers said.
Rogers believes the kids relate very well to the MSU players because their situation is similar.
"We give them hope. They are coming from the same thing we came from when we came up, so we can relate to them," he said. "And you might see the next T.J. Duckett or Little John Flowers out here."
Duckett, who plays professional ball for the Atlanta Falcons, said he wouldn't mind playing with Rogers in Detroit.
"Oh, yeah, you know, Chuck's my man. But you know, right now, my focus is in Atlanta. I'd love for him (Rogers) to come down and help us out in Atlanta though," Duckett said.
But the main focus of the camp was to allow the young kids to socialize with the players they idolize and ask any questions they think might help with their game and life goals.
"They see us on TV all the time," Duckett said. "But it's different when they are up close and personal.
"If one kid picks up one thing, the whole camp is worth it."
