NFL’s Sargent comes home to give back to community

 

By RON COOKE Key West Citizen

June 24, 2022

During the 2021 Key West Summer Youth Football Camp, Alvin Howard worked with older players on pass receiving. He is scheduled to work with youth this weekend.

RON COOKE/The Citizen

Aspiring local youth football players have the chance to work out this weekend at two different clinics with National Football League running back and Key West native Mekhi Sargent.

 

Sargent

On Friday, June 24, from 9 a.m. to noon, the prolific ball carrier, in conjunction with the Boys & Girls Club of the Keys, will hold the first Mekhi Sargent Football Campaign.

 

Close to 100 members of the area clubs, ages 5 to 14, will learn basic football skills at George Mira Football Field from Sargent and a group of former Key West High School players.

 

“Being able to partner with the Boys & Girls Club is something that is very exciting to me,” Sargent stated in a news release. “The Boys & Girls Club is a very special organization that does great work, and being able to use the platform that I now have to work with their kids and bring smiles to their faces is very humbling.”

 

Sargent said it has been a dream to return to Key West, where he grew up playing in the Junior Football League and went on to great things as an All-American while playing for the Conchs and a successful collegiate career that catapulted him into pro football with the Tennessee Titan, Los Angeles Rams and now the Jacksonville Jaguars.

 

“This is the first time since I’ve been a professional athlete that I have been able to return to Key West and begin my legacy of community outreach. It’s just the first of many community engagements we will be doing,” stated Sargent. “We have some big plans that we will be announcing soon, and I look forward to being able to get the entire community involved in our initiatives.”

The following day, Saturday, June 25, Sargent will make a guest appearance at the second annual Free Summer Football Camp from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. also at the George Mira Field, for ages 6 to 18.

The first 50 registered will receive a camp T-shirt, said organizer Miguel Gonzalez, who lined up a group of former Key West and collegiate players and local coaches to teach the players the finer points of football.

“I’ve got high school and HOB coaches and former players,” Gonzalez said. “We’ve got J.P. Garcia, Kentrell Freeman, Devin Barber, Jeremiah Osborne, Carson Hughes, Garett Hughes, Alvin Howard, Reid Grissinger, Dorian Cannon, and Mekhi will be there.”

For information about the second annual Key West Football Camp on Saturday, contact Gonzalez at 305-684-6727.