JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jaguars are giving high school football athletes an opportunity this summer to knock off the rust and play some football at TIAA Bank Field.
The Jaguars are hosting 1,000 high school football athletes across multiple camps Nike 11-On tournaments, mixing up the action between the field at the stadium and at Flex Field.
“We meet every morning at 7. We go from 7 to about 10:30, Monday through Thursday,” said Trinity Christian coach Verlon Dorminey. “So when we told them we’re going to get to come do a 7-on-7 down at Jaguars, they were there early this morning. They were excited.”
The Jaguars have made a push to ramp up their efforts across the state on the high school level. Last week, the team helpd a 64-team 7-on-7 event in the Villages. Next month, they’ll head to the Panhandle to put on an event in Fort Walton Beach. But local remains Jacksonville’s focus.
Saturday was the girl’s tournament, with Fort Walton Beach Choctawhatchee emerging as the winner of the event. A dozen area schools took part in that event, including several from out of the area.
“Man, this is awesome,” said Ed White flag coach Bachir Saoud. “This is a great opportunity for the girls to not only hang out with themselves, compete with all of these great athletes, flag football is on the rise and the Jaguars are doing a tremendous job promoting it and making it one of the most popular female sports in the area.”
On Monday, a handful of teams from North Florida and across Georgia took part in the event, which helped break up the monotony of summer workouts with a change of scenery.
“I’m honestly just having fun,” said Trinity quarterback Colin Hurley. “We get to run some of our plays with the new guys, let them get to know the offense but this honestly just come out here have fun and bond.”
This event is part of the Jaguars Prep program, which includes all youth and high school football. It also gives skill position players a chance to showcase their talents with a high school quarterback skills challenge. This program is a way for the Jaguars to give back to their community and allows them to give younger kids the opportunity to showcase their skill.