Bengals rookies inspire kids with flag football event in Dayton

The enjoyment of getting a break from class combined with the thrill of seeing professional football players at their school made for a memorable Friday for the DECA third and fourth graders at the NFL Flag In-School event.

The players knew that maybe one day those same students could be on the other side of such a camp.

“We want them to have hope at the end of the day that they can be in my shoes when it comes time,” said Demetrius Knight Jr., a linebacker from South Carolina picked in the second round of the NFL Draft in April. “If they want to do it, they can do it. Why not you? Some people are like, ‘Oh, you’ve got to be realistic. You can’t make it to the NFL. It’s hard to get there.’ And it’s true; it’s hard. You have to have hard work and determination.”

During the event, which was sponsored by Kettering Health, students rotated through four areas, interacting with 19 players, many of whom participated in a one-day mini-camp last week. The Bengals mascot Who Dey also made an appearance.

The students completed a running drill, sprinting from cone to cone. They ran short receiving routes as Stewart, a defensive end from Texas A&M who was drafted 17th overall, threw them passes. They attempted to throw footballs into nets. They also played 7-on-7 flag football while players such as former Auburn quarterback Payton Thorne, an undrafted free agent, supervised.

As part of the event, the Bengals presented the school “with a free Flag-In-School Kit which supports high quality physical education through a 10-week flag football curriculum.“

The players had as much fun as the kids, enjoying a break from the grind of trying to make a NFL roster.

“I feel we’re making a big impact on them,” said third-round pick Dylan Fairchild, a right guard from Georgia, “and this is awesome to hang out and show them a little bit of football.”