Packer Devonte Wyatt hosts youth football camp in Decatur

Clayton County Public Schools coordinating supervisor Calleb Obumba first met Green Bay Packers defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt through a minority youth violence prevention program.

On Saturday, Wyatt shared many of the same lessons he learned from Obumba in high school during his first free youth football camp and the second annual back-to-school bash at Towers High School in Decatur.

“It’s for the younger generation,” Wyatt said about the purpose of hosting the camp. “All you see on the news is young kids killing, robbing, or just doing bad things. Camps like this help keep them out of the streets.”

Giving back is especially important to Wyatt because he once played on the same field where the camp was held and never had opportunities like this growing up. Before being selected by the Green Bay Packers in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft or helping lead the University of Georgia to its first national championship in 41 years in 2021, the Decatur native starred at Towers High School, graduating in 2017.

Wyatt is the only first-round NFL Draft pick in Towers history and just the school’s third player to reach the NFL.

“My goal is to show the young kids that if I can make it out of Towers, anybody can,” Wyatt said. “If you want to make it out of Decatur, you can. If I can do it, they can do it even better than me.”

Although the camp was designed for children ages 8 to 14, younger children as well as both boys and girls were welcomed to participate. Campers rotated through drills for both linemen and skill-position players.

Most participants wore Wyatt’s camp T-shirt, while others sported Towers football jerseys or Packers jerseys. Watching from the sideline was Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Jordan Davis.

Davis, who is one year younger than Wyatt, joined him at Georgia in 2018 after Wyatt spent one season at Hutchinson Community College. Since then, the two have remained close friends.

“I remember in college we took a groundskeeper’s golf cart for a joyride and ended up breaking the axle,” Davis said. “Me and Devonte picked the golf cart up and put it back where it was so it would look like the next person drove it and broke it. We ended up getting caught and getting in trouble.”

Despite all the fun memories they’ve shared, Davis said his greatest joy has been watching Wyatt grow as a person.

After the drills and races to the end zone, Wyatt and Davis gathered the campers for a final message before they enjoyed lunch and picked up school supplies.

Davis emphasized the importance of dreaming.

“If you can dream it, you can achieve it,” Davis said.

Wyatt focused on the importance of making good decisions and not being influenced by the negative behavior often seen on social media.

“Decision-making is a skill,” Wyatt said.

After another successful turnout, Wyatt said he plans to continue hosting the event in his hometown for years to come.

“This was the first annual one. I’m going to do a second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth one and keep going until I’m dead and gone, and hopefully it’ll still be going,” Wyatt said.

Obumba believes Wyatt’s impact on the community is significant enough to earn NFL recognition.

“The goal is NFL Man of the Year,” Obumba said. “Not trying to chase it, but letting it happen organically because this community is very important to him. You hear all the negative things that happen around here, but he wants to be that lighthouse, that shining light. I heard a kid call him a neighborhood hero, and he doesn’t take that lightly. He’s intentional about it. He wishes he could come back more, but sometimes it isn’t about your treasures. It’s about your time, talent, and history. Seeing this is a beautiful thing. It really makes me proud.”

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