Baltimore Ravens cornerback and former Colonel Lardarius Webb will host and teach the mechanics of football to 200 children statewide at his fourth annual camp at John L. Guidry Stadium on Saturday.

Within three days of releasing the registration date, the free, public camp reached its maximum capacity of children from ages 7-17. In addition to Webb leading the camp, the Opelika, Alaska native will have assistance from his teammate Anthony Levine, along with several other National Football League players and the Nicholls football coaching staff.

The Sports Medicine Center of Thibodaux Regional Medical Center and Firehouse Subs of Houma are sponsoring the camp. This year, Webb is providing transportation for 50 children from the Abbeville, Louisiana area and partnered with Wraparound Services of South Central Louisiana, a group that helps high-risk children in our area. They will escort 38 youth to the event.

Facilitator of Wraparound Services Scott Tougas said that part of what makes Wraparound unique is how committed their staff is to finding creative ways to keep the children they work with engaged in the community.

“We want to surround these kids with as many positive experiences as we can,” Tougas said. “Having someone like Lardarius to take the time to connect with them, using football as a medium is a priceless opportunity for the families we work with.”

Rob Bernardi, director of Nicholls State University Athletics, said the camp is a good community event and gives Webb a chance to mentor the children in the area.

“It is a good community event and it’s free to the kids,” Bernardi said. “It gives Lardarius a chance to mentor some of the children in the area and emphasize his message of the importance of education, family and spiritual life.”

The camp is a part of the Lardarius Webb Foundation, which focuses on providing aid to underprivileged children and their families in Webb’s hometown and the Balitmore community. Associate Athletic Director for External Affairs and Executive Director of the Colonel Athletic Association Brandon Ruttley said Webb reached out to him about five years ago wanting to fulfill his mission in Thibodaux.

“Webb loves giving back to the community and part of his foundation’s mission is to help unprivileged youth,” Ruttley said. “Because he loves Nicholls so much, he reached out to us about five years ago to help him accomplish goals here in Thibodaux. Every year he gets treated like a rock star, and I know we are going to have another awesome camp this year.”

According to Bernardi, Webb genuinely cares about young people with limited means. Bernardi also said while Webb was a senior at Nicholls, he could not afford his cap and gown for graduation.

“He is very down to earth and genuinely cares about young people and the type of lives they will go on to, because I think he came from very limited means,” Bernardi said. “I can remember when he was a student here and he stood in the doorway of my office before graduation. I could tell something was troubling him, and told me he did not have $40 for his cap and gown. You could tell the humility and how painful it was for him to ask for help. I think the story he tells is the one that he lived and has overcome a lot.”