Local NFL players return home, share positive message with kids

Nothing beats returning home when you're an NFL player except coming back and spreading a positive message to the local youth.

That's what current professional footballers Kentrell Brice, Michael Hunter, Paul Turner and Xavier Woods did Thursday, stopping by to share their experiences with 5- to 11-year-olds at the West Monroe Community Center.

"We all have a purpose," said Woods. "Even though we made it to the NFL, it’s not our purpose in life. I believe my purpose is to give back to the community. I grew up here, I know most of these kids. I have younger brothers that grew up with them.

"I wouldn’t say change their life, but if I can be a little spark, if I can give them some advice or teach them something that I’ve learned along the way, that’s key. Growing up, I didn’t ever have a guy come back and tell me the keys to success. Just set a goal and just to pursue it. Do not let anyone deter you from it. No matter what anyone says. You can be anything you want. It could be a football player, a doctor, a dentist or whatever, it doesn’t matter."

Woods, the Dallas Cowboys' sixth-round pick in this year's NFL Draft, grew up in West Monroe with Hunter, a defensive back with the New York Giants, and Turner, a wide receiver with the Philadelphia Eagles. Brice, a Ruston native, plays safety for the Green Bay Packers. An embodiment of reaching their dreams, all four agreed on the importance of showing youth in their hometown that their dreams are achievable.

"It’s always a blessing to come back home, meeting with family and friends," Hunter said. "Just having an event like this giving back to the kids, showing them the importance of education, how important it is to work hard on and off the field. Just giving them a dream that anything is possible. It doesn’t matter how good you are in sports, without an education, you can’t get into any college these days, especially not a Division I college. That’s the first step to achieving your dreams."

Speaking to a room full of Excel Summer campers, the four players touched on having the right work ethic, making the right choices and how to stay focused on your goals.

"I’m just grateful for the opportunity. I’m blessed to be in the position I’m in," Brice said. "Being able to come back and speak to the kids, give them a positive message. Whatever they can take from the message we all four give them, hopefully something sticks. It’s definitely beneficial for me."

The fact that the four former local standouts now play in the NFL doesn't hurt their abilities to relate.   

"We just want to encourage them that we were just like you not too long ago," Turner said. "We struggled through the same things. Kids are a huge part of the generation coming up. It’s vital for each and every one of us to use our platform for these kids nowadays.

"They look up to us as athletes and I feel like anything we can do to give them some encouragement as far as on education, choices, just on life, I think it’s our duty to use what God’s given us. We’ve been blessed to have this opportunity to do that and I feel like it’s an obligation. We’re just thankful, all four of us, to be here and give back to the community where we grew up."