APOPKA, Fla.—National champ Georgia defensive lineman Jalen Carter grew up playing in youth football camps as a kid, which helped him become the player he is today.

During the offseason, the 2020 Apopka graduate decided he wanted to come back home this summer and put together his first youth football camp, just like the ones he played. But he couldn’t do it alone. His mom Toni Brown had a big hand in putting it all together.

“I always wanted to do a camp in the Apopka community. They showed me a lot of support and I told myself that I needed to give back to the community,” said Carter. “She pretty much set the whole camp up.” 

“He’s always loved children,” said Brown. “He’s grown up around children with me being in the child care industry.”

Jalen attended camps like these as a kid and they helped him become the player he is today. 

“I think he has been observant to all the camps he has gone to, so he can do something successful,” said Brown. “He has always known that he wanted to go to the next level, he has worked very, very, very hard.”

Jalen has a busy schedule during the offseason and setting up a camp like this takes a lot of steps and effort. Jalen wanted to do a camp in the summer when he had some time off.

“First, we got with the school systems just to see if we could have it here at Apopka High School which is the high school that he graduated from,” said Brown. “Once we got the approval, we sent out a couple of sponsorship letters and everybody just immediately jumped on board, everybody was extremely excited, everything came together perfectly.”

“Everything is running through her. Without her, none of this would happen,” said Carter.

The turnout for this year’s camp was more than what Carter expected.

“To see all these kids come out and come and support me is just amazing. I love it,” said Carter.

Georgia will begin defending its national championship on September 3rd against Oregon.