Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Trenton Irwin has never let go of the Santa Clarita Valley community despite his football talents taking him all over the country.
Irwin retook the field at his alma mater, Hart High School, for the first time in several years to host his third annual youth camp on Saturday.
“I had fun with the kids, with the coaches,” Irwin said. “We had a good turnout. It was about 250 kids. Being back at Hart, that was the home base, so having the camp back there ended up being a little more nostalgic than I thought it’d be. This is where a lot of the work took place.”
The Bengal hosted the camp for the third straight year alongside the PO3 Agency and founder Jessica Campbell, a fellow Hart alumnus.
The Hart duo’s camp welcomed over 200 participants with nearly as many spectators, with all proceeds benefiting the Hart girls’ flag football program starting up in the fall.
Giving back to the school where he made a name for himself was an easy decision for Irwin.
“(Girls’ flag football) is a new thing up and coming up at Hart and I think it’s pretty cool,” Irwin said. “There’s nobody saying girls can’t play. Why can’t they play football? I know it’s a physical game but I’ve always had some girls on my football team growing up. The interest has really been pretty high. It’s something that’s taken off that I can help out a little. It was perfect timing for the camp so we said, ‘Let’s just have all the proceeds go to that so that they can get a little boost, a little head start and have a chance to take flight.’”
The camp welcomed back NFL professional coaches like Bengals teammates Josh Tupou, Kwame Lassiter II, Nick Scott and Stanley Morgan. Irwin and Morgan have been friends for about five years, so Morgan’s decision to make it out to Southern California for his Cincinnati teammate was an easy one.
“Trent Irwin, that’s my guy,” Morgan said. “We’ve been together for about five years now and he’s one of my best friends. I came out here last year and I’m gonna be coming out here for years to come.”
Several coaches made their Irwin Camp debut, including Eagles quarterback Tanner McKee, Packers cornerback David Long, Commanders wide receiver Brycen Tremayne and fellow Hart alumnus JT Shrout.
“It’s good to be back,” Shrout said. “A lot of memories here. This was kind of the foundation of where my football career started. So it’s definitely nice to be back at Hart.”
Shrout passed for over 3,000 yards in his senior year at Hart before originally committing to the University of Tennessee. Shrout has since transferred to Arkansas State where has already been named the starter for the 2024 season. Shrout only played one season at Hart with Irwin, but, like most of the campers, the Bengal has played a big role in his youth.
“He was a senior when I was a freshman, so I got to know him a little bit,” Shrout said. “I always kind of idolized him growing up as a little kid and then kind of getting to grow into a friendship and stuff the last few years has been really cool. He’s a great dude. He comes out here just to give back to the community where he grew up in. I think it’s awesome (that) he’s kind of passing the torch to the younger generation.”
Irwin offered drills for all positions as campers could be seen catching passes, sharpening footwork, pushing sleds, tipping passes and reeling in punts.
The camp full of middle schoolers, especially the wide receivers, never ceases to impress Morgan.
“We’ve got kids out here catching at a level that I wasn’t even catching at, at the time,” Morgan said. “The future’s bright for them.”
The coaches know how important camps like Irwin’s can play in young players lives’ and cherished every drill with every camper. Shrout remembers being on the other side of football camps with pro players and taking in everything he could.
“I remember meeting the guys who were older in college or the NFL players,” Shrout said. “You never forget those experiences and just being able to give back to those guys and be in the position that I’m in now has been really cool.”
The future football stars could pick up anywhere between a couple to hundreds of memories or takeaways from Saturday.
“They come in here with good attitudes, work hard and try to learn something,” Shrout said. “Whatever they’re doing, I hope they take something away from it. Don’t leave empty handed, without knowledge that you can gain from someone else who has been in your shoes before.”
Irwin recognized his coaches’ busy schedules as some of them play professionally on the other side of the country. The Hart alumnus thanked them throughout the day and even sent follow-up texts to every coach, expressing his gratitude.
“I hope they understand the impact that this has,” Irwin said. “It shows that they care enough to help out the city I’m from just for the kids. I tried to let them know that it was huge and they just showed up selflessly to come out to a little kids camp.”
For Irwin, he’s now “3-for-3″ with hosting the camps and has no plans on stopping the Santa Clarita staple, as the numbers of campers and coaches has grown each year.
“It didn’t matter if it was a high school, college player or NFL player, I really took heed to everything those guys were saying because they’ve been down that road,” Morgan said. “These camps are very important. I was a kid and once had a dream, so with these young kids we have to make sure that their dreams come true and make sure they know that they can come true.”
