BUFFALO, N.Y. — While the Bills broke camp in Rochester this past week and returned to Orchard Park, a few familiar faces and a bunch of local kids picked up where the pros left off on a sun-soaked field in South Buffalo on Saturday morning at former Bills running back Fred Jackson’s football camp.
“We just get out here and try to have fun with the kids and teach them some of the things that we learned while we were playing, and it’s just always a good time," said the camp's namesake, Fred Jackson.
"It started with Aaron (Williams). Number one choice. Had to call him. He likes to have fun, so I had to get him out here. Had my twin brother. B-Scott (former Bills' linebacker Bryan Scott), Alex Carrington, Stevie Johnson. Handle business, have fun. Had to get him out here.”
Added Johnson: “I wanted to be out here because it’s like this is family. This is family to me. I came here, what, 10, 11 years ago and somewhat established a name here, and every time I seem to come back, the people of the city seem to show so much love, so once Freddie asked me, 'Hey, come join my camp.' It was pure, you know what I’m saying? So I had to come give back.”
Williams agreed.
"Whenever Fred calls and needs me to come up here and teach these kids," Williams said. "I just come up here because the kids love to come out here and have a great time. Run around, have fun, and that’s the main point: we want these kids to be safe and run around and have fun and hopefully lose a lot of energy for these parents.”
Added Johnson: “Just understanding that you can gift them knowledge, wisdom. The things that we may have done wrong, we can give that to them through where they won’t have to go through it. I mean some may have to go through it to learn because they’re kind of hard headed like I was, but ultimately they know that they have somebody there for them that’s looking out for them.”
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