Mike Evans brings same joy, new faces to youth football camp
GALVESTON
Much like the athleticism he has used to build a Hall-of-Fame-caliber NFL career, Mike Evans’ drive to continue giving back is instinctual, ingrained and natural.
“I never do any community work and think about legacy — it’s just how I was raised and what this community means to me,” said Evans, who Saturday morning hosted his eighth yearly free football skills camp for area children at Spoor Field just off the campus of Galveston’s Ball High School where he once traversed the halls as a basketball and football standout.
“I’d do it if there were cameras or no cameras,” Evans added. “I’m just trying to leave Galveston better than when I came up.”
After starting the camp in 2016 following his second NFL season and holding it every year — aside from the 2020 Covid year — ever since, the Galveston native Evans said he still finds as much enjoyment in the event now as he did when it first began.
“It’s like I’m getting ready for a game; I get excited,” said Evans, who is set to embark on his 11th NFL season — all with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — this fall having accumulated 11,680 career yards and 94 touchdowns on 762 total receptions playing the wide receiver position, as well as a Super Bowl championship. “Every time I’m around these kids, I remember myself being here.”
Evans said he fondly remembers the youth football camps held in Galveston by another Ball High alumnus, Pittsburgh Steelers defensive line great Casey Hampton, and this year Evans welcomed the participation in his camp of the latest generation of Tors to work their way to the NFL ranks: twin brothers Zyon and Tristin McCollum, defensive backs for the Buccaneers and Philadelphia Eagles, respectively.
“This is awesome for them to be around and prepare for it, as well,” Evans said. “This city, this community helped pave our way to being where we’re at.”
“We just love seeing the community come together, and it’s for the kids,” Tristin McCollum said. “Seeing the kids smile and laugh, that’s what it’s all about. I remember when we were kids running on this field, so to be on the other side of things, the coaching side of things, and seeing the kids running around brings back so many memories.”
The twin 2017 Ball High graduates whose pro football careers are just getting started said they would like to one day host a youth football camp of their own, and that they would be sure to keep an eye on how Evans’ camp was run while also having fun teaching the campers some pointers.
“We’re getting shown the ropes now, and hopefully, in the future, we can do something like it,” Zyon McCollum said. “We’re here having fun with the kids, but we’re also trying to learn how it works.”
Helping Evans put on the day camp — free to children ages 8-14 and offering football training, lunch and other activities — each year are Ball High coaches, local businesses, community members and the Mike Evans Family Foundation, which also recently started an annual Thanksgiving luncheon in Galveston for those in need on top of the foundation’s other philanthropic projects in the Tampa area.
A five-time NFL Pro Bowl honoree, Evans’ on-field career has been the epitome of consistency, playing in 154 games over the course of 10 seasons and recording at least 1,000 receiving yards in each of those seasons. No other player in NFL history has begun their career with more than six straight seasons of 1,000 or more receiving yards.
