Two of the NFL’s brightest young quarterbacks, Andrew Luck of the Indianapolis Colts and Marcus Mariota of the Tennessee Titans, along with future Hall of Fame wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, recently visited Williamsburg for the College of William & Mary’s 23rd annual Colonial All-Pro Football Camp.
For Fitzgerald, who had attended the youth football camp twice previously, the Tribe’s head football coach, Jimmye Laycock, was one of the biggest reasons to keep coming back.
“It’s Coach Laycock. He’s the foundation of this program. You don’t get buildings named after you while you’re still coaching for not doing it the right way,” he said. “It’s a great privilege for me to come here.”
After speaking with older campers, Luck, Mariota and Fitzgerald each spent roughly an hour throwing footballs to younger campers. Luck was at William & Mary on Sunday, while Mariota and Fitzgerald were both present Monday.
For all three of the NFL players involved this year, the highlight was seeing the children’s joy and enthusiasm.
“It’s good to see kids outside having fun and learning skills. It’s a great program here at William & Mary,” Luck said. “I try to have a positive impact on kids, and that’s what they do a great job of at this camp.”
Fitzgerald shared Luck’s sentiments, saying he loves seeing the “competitive spirit” in the campers, some of whom made the big claim they could guard the nine-time Pro Bowler.
“I love that youthful exuberance they show out here at camp,” Fitzgerald said. “That keeps me fired up, too, because I’ve been fighting the young guys off from taking my job for a long time. I love that competition and enthusiasm. I love seeing that fire from kids.”
