With his own first fall camp with Purdue just days away, Brady Allen hosted his own inaugural Brady Allen Football Camp here at Jewell Field in Fort Branch Friday morning. We got a chance to see how he interacted with and got the future of Tri-State area football ready.

And with that the Inaugural Brady Allen Football Camp kicked off this morning at Jewell Field in Fort Branch.

The cornfields of Gibson County are a perfect setting for the Cream of last season's Hoosier State crop, to help plan the future harvest of Southern Indiana. And it's the perfect opportunity for Brady to pay it forward.

"Growing up, I went to Cody Zeller's camp and Jon Goldsberry's football camp. Just saw how those big role models and guys you look up to were able to give back to their community," says Gibson Southern graduate and incoming freshman quarterback Brady Allen. "That was a big thing for me. Wanting to give back, wanting to help kids. Because I remember when I was in their shoes and had role models and had guys to look up to. That was the big thing, just wanting to help out."

However, this camp is far from a one-man show. It begins with the man who started Brady on his football journey, his dad Chris.

"Brady had some success this year and with that success, he gets a chance to give back to young kids," says Chris Allen. "Give some other kids an opportunity to see what it takes to get to a good level and have an opportunity to have some success at a sport."

Then there are Brady's teammates on last year's 3-A State Title squad at Gibson Southern, all pitching in to help launch this initiative.

"Just getting the kids out and having fun," says Gibson Southern graduate and incoming University of Indianapolis wide receiver Rory Heltsley. "Letting them experience what football really is, where they get to get better, but also have a lot of fun. Bring them to a program that they know they can enjoy. Even if they're not from Gibson Southern, they can still come out and have fun and learn what football's about and that's having fun, meeting new friends, and getting better at a sport they love."

One of the standouts at today's camp is Jett Goldsberry, an incoming freshman at Heritage Hills. And if that last name sounds familiar, his father Jon was a star there, as well as at Purdue. Making it to the pros, before coming back home and starting his own camp.

"Watching is a little different than coaching, for sure," says Goldsberry. "And it's hard for me to watch and not coach. I coach youth football at Heritage Hills, along with youth wrestling. So I'm used to dealing with kids. But, it's fun to see these guys and it's good for them to step and do this for the community. Brady's a great role model, great leader, not only for Gibson Southern, but for Southern Indiana. Heritage Hills kids, Tell City kids, Princeton kids, you name it. And Indiana in general. He's Mr. Football. That's a huge goal that a lot of kids have and never come close to. It's about him coming. Then looking up to him and having those dreams, setting those goals."

So are there any future Brady Allens in camp?

"I mean there's a couple out there," says Brady. "A lot of good kids who can spin it. A lot of good talent around the area coming."

"There's a little kid over there," says Heltsley. "I think he's got a bright future ahead of him. He looks pretty good."

However, gridiron fame and all that comes with it is far from the goal of today's camp.

"I hope they had a lot of fun," says Brady. "Hope they were able to take a few things and learn from them. I know they're young, but just try to learn something.

Have a lot of fun. Be around guys who've been in their shoes, played on a big-time stage and have a lot of fun with it."

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