Rain couldn’t keep nearly 300 young football players from spending time with one of Edwardsville’s own.
The former Edwardsville standout, who recently signed with the Philadelphia Eagles, returned home June 26 to host his second free youth football camp. The event was moved from the football field to inside the Jon Davis Wrestling Center, but hundreds of campers still had the opportunity to spend time with the NFL veteran and 2017 EHS graduate.
The camp featured two sessions, with first- through fifth-grade campers attending from 8 to 9:30 a.m. and sixth- through ninth-graders from 10 a.m. to noon.
During the first session, Epenesa spent nearly 40 minutes answering questions about everything from his days at Edwardsville and Iowa to his NFL career with the Buffalo Bills and his recent move to Philadelphia.
Among the answers that drew the biggest reactions, Epenesa said the best player he’s played with was linebacker Von Miller, the toughest quarterback to sack is new Eagles teammate Jalen Hurts and his favorite football memory remains Riley Patterson’s game-winning field goal in the Tigers’ 2016 overtime playoff victory over Oak Park-River Forest.
“It’s so much fun,” Epenesa said. “Obviously, we would have loved to have been outside. Being able to see the kids smiling while I’m trying to answer their questions to the best of my ability was a lot of fun. It’s always fun.”
Epenesa said he wasn’t sure what to expect from the campers’ questions but came away impressed.
“They had a lot of good questions,” Epenesa said. “You never know what to expect with questions coming from the kids, but they had some really good ones.”
Footballs and Philadelphia Eagles hats were tossed into the crowd by Epenesa’s father during the question-and-answer session before campers moved to the auditorium, where Epenesa and Patterson signed autographs.
The second session for sixth- through ninth-grade campers followed later in the morning and included another question-and-answer session and autograph signing, along with football drills.
Nearly 300 campers registered for this year’s event, up from approximately 250 participants at Epenesa’s inaugural camp last summer.
Epenesa said he’s grateful for the support he’s received from the Edwardsville community, his family and the Tigers football program. Several Edwardsville coaches and players attended the camp.
Epenesa is entering his seventh NFL season and his first with the Eagles after spending his first six seasons with the Buffalo Bills. Philadelphia signed the former second-round draft pick to a one-year contract June 10 and lists the 6-foot-6 edge rusher as an outside linebacker.
In 91 career NFL games, Epenesa has totaled 135 tackles, 24 sacks and four interceptions. Last season with Buffalo, he recorded 32 tackles, 2.5 sacks and two interceptions.