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Some of them were raised here. Some of them have made this place their home. Regardless of their upbringing, more than a dozen current and former Division I college football players came together this past weekend to show kids in this area that they can reach that stage.
Charlie Browder brought them together for his second annual football camp, held Saturday in Kingsport, TN, as part of Fun Fest.
Browder said his total turnout for Saturday’s camp topped attendance from the first iteration of the event, held last July, also during Fun Fest.
Nearly everyone who joined Browder as a volunteer coach for the camp is a former teammate of his — whether at Dobyns-Bennett High School, ETSU, or the University of Tennessee, where Browder spent his first three seasons of college football.
“It’s awesome. It’s just a testament to the guys we have in the locker room over at ETSU,” Browder said. “Just the relationships that college football brings you, to have all these guys come out here on one of our last Saturdays before we get to fall camp. To come out here early on a Saturday morning and help the kids of Kingsport, it’s a testament to the character of people that I’ve grown really fond of, and built relationships with, some have been months, some have been a year, some have been four years.”
One — Charlie’s younger brother, Sam, who joined ETSU through the transfer portal earlier this year — for two decades.
The list of athletes helping Browder included a who’s who of athletes from the Tri-Cities who have gone on to success at the next level in football. Among those? Corbin Laisure, currently a tight end at Colorado.
“I think what Charlie’s doing is amazing,” Laisure said. “I think it’s really important to inspire the youth, especially around here. I think it’s extremely important that Tri-Cities kids know that they can grow up and be whatever they want to be, including football players. Even if there’s not a whole lot of hype around the Tri-Cities, if they work hard enough and they try hard enough, they can reach the highest levels of sports.”
Will Brooks, the former starting safety at Tennessee and a former roommate of Browder’s during their shared time as the Vols, was among those who came out to help during Saturday’s camp. Brooks said he was out of town for last year’s event. So, when Browder planned this year’s camp, “it was pretty automatic.
“I had to make sure I got up here for this one. It’s super fun to come out here and be able to spend time with kids, hopefully inspire the next generation to play football.”
Xavier Gallardetz, one of Browder’s teammates at ETSU, also relished the chance to come out and provide some guidance to the next generation.
“Charlie’s done a lot for the city, for this area. Whenever he says hey, I’m gonna run a camp for some kids, [it’s a] no brainer. … This is a very stress-free, fun activity for the guys on a weekend. It’s a great time for us to come out and give back to the community. “
Linebacker Grant Bullard, another teammate of the Browder brothers at ETSU, came out to help at the camp as well.
“What goes through my brain is the process that I’ve had growing up: elementary school, middle school, high school, I’ve been in all these kids’ shoes,” Bullard said. “Being where I’m at now, a Division I school, and just coming out here and sharing whatever I can with these kids. Knowing that I used to be in their shoes, I just always want to try and give back. … try to get them where they want to be.”
At one point, Bullard raced the campers to midfield. He won. Then the kids responded in the best way possible … by dog piling him.
Who knows? One of the kids at Browder’s camp may go on to an opportunity at the Division I level and host his own camp some day.