Arizona Cardinals bring joy to youngsters at football camp

Jake Plummer and Haason Reddick represented the Arizona Cardinals well during the Hyundai Youth Football Camp this past Sunday

Twenty years have passed since one of the area’s most popular athletes led the Arizona Cardinals to an incredible victory. Back in 1999, Jake “The Snake” Plummer and his teammates went on the road and walloped a heavily-favored Dallas Cowboys squad. It was a memorable day for Cards fans, who were treated to perhaps the greatest postseason win in the history of the franchise.

This past Sunday, in Glendale, Plummer returned to lend his knowledge to the Hyundai Youth Football Camp. Arizona’s former starting quarterback, along with current inside linebacker Haason Reddick, led a contingent of starry-eyed children through a variety of drills. The day went well, with the kids (aged 7 to 13) getting to learn the fundamentals of football from two of the game’s most classy and talented individuals.

Hyundai’s Hope on Wheels, a nonprofit organization that fights childhood cancer, also took part in the event. A group of pediatric cancer survivors were also invited to participate.

During a break from the teaching, Plummer spoke to the media, and was asked to give his opinion on Cardinals’ rookie passer Kyler Murray. “I don’t buy into the size thing, I think they make too big of a deal about a kid’s size”, the former Arizona State Sun Devil remarked. “The challenges will be there, but the kid (Murray) has a lot of potential and is going to entertain a lot of people”.

Reddick also held court, and was asked about the difficulty of having to adjust to three different defensive coordinators in three years. “It’s been tough in that I’ve had to learn a new defense every year”, the former Temple University product admitted. “But on the bright side, you gain knowledge from three different personalities, and that has helped me to understand linebacker from a mental standpoint”.

It’s a wonderful thing when professional sports stars give back to the community, and the Hyundai corporation deserves praise for their charitable work as well. Kudos to Plummer and Reddick for giving their time to such a worthwhile cause. And for giving Arizona’s youngsters a day that they will never forget.