Why Nolan Smith and Winston Wright Jr. provide Savannah with free youth football camps

Nolan Smith has played in front of crowds close to 100,000 fans cheering him on as a defensive star on Georgia's last two national championship teams -- but an interaction Friday with a roomful of Savannah kids at the Frank Callen Boys and Girls Club ranks right up there in the memorable moments of his life.

Prior to holding the first of two youth camps at Daffin Park, the recent first-round draft pick of the Philadelphia Eagles was serenaded by young fans chanting his name as he walked into the room.

"I was shocked. It almost took my breath away," said Nolan, a Savannah native who played two seasons of high school ball at Calvary Day before transferring to IMG Academy in Florida and earning a scholarship to play at UGA. "I was like 'Oh my goodness.' They had so much energy and were so hyped. They came in there and were chanting my name and I felt so good to be able to give back because I was once one of those kids and that was my highlight -- seeing a big time athlete from Savannah State or something coming through. I told my God Mama Karen that's something I've got to do every year, because that's how much I love it."

Smith teamed up with his longtime friend Winston Wright Jr., the former Memorial Day star now playing for Florida State -- to put on the Third Annual Pups Day Out Camp. This year the free event was split into separate days with a camp for high school aged players on Friday night, with a camp for 10-13 year-olds held Saturday at Daffin Park's Morris Field.

"That's my favorite camp because it's the little kids. From the time they get here to the time they get their book bags to go back to school, it's just amazing. It's just so much energy. With certain older kids they think they know it all and they've got the secret sauce," Smith said after Friday night's camp. "And you've still got to get them going. But the little kids wake up ready to go and that's how I think about my life every day. I try to wake up like a 6-year-old kid, try to wake up happy and hit the ground running -- go bother mom and all that. I can't wait for tomorrow."

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On Friday night, Smith and Wright led the high school players through a series of drills, with the help of a number of coaches who were on hand to volunteer their time. Smith and Wright got down in the dirt and were sweating it out -- demonstrating to the kids the way things should be done.

Wright, who was named the Coastal Empire Boys Athlete of the year as a senior at Memorial Day in 2019, started his college career at West Virginia, where he starred for three years as a wide receiver and return man. He transferred to FSU in 2022, but missed the season with a leg injury. He said he is ready to have a huge impact with the Seminoles this year, and was happy to help with the camp back in his hometown.

"Being from Savannah, I didn't have people coming back giving knowledge about college when I was in high school," Wright said. "I kept my head down and kept my faith in God. I played on this field that we're standing on right now, so it means a lot to me to come back and come to the city that raised me and pour back into the young guys -- to do something positive in the community. I just hope that they can learn the details they need to work on to get to the next level."

At the end of Friday's camp, a 40-yard dash was held with linemen competing and the winner getting a football signed by Smith and Wright. Kam Cody, a 6-foot-3, 300-pound sophomore defensive lineman from Benedictine got rolling and never slowed down to win the race.

"It was a great experience to be out here learning from the best," Cody said. "I learned to keep my hands inside more when your battling on the line and that helped me a lot."

At the end of the night, Smith and Wright delivered a message to the kids -- to stay focused on school and achieving their goals.

"I told the kids, especially in our generation, paying attention to details and staying on top of the school work is important," Smith said. "Because most of them don't know that you need to have a certain GPA to be a college athlete. You're still a student athlete -- that's what my mama always told me and that's the message I'm going to give every kid. They need to learn and not just rely on football. I got my mathematics degree, I didn't tell them that, but I did good on the academics side and I take pride in that."

Dennis Knight covers sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at Dknight@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @DennisKnightSMN

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Nolan Smith and Winston Wright give back to Savannah with football camps