HAMPTON, VA (WTKR)- Jamin Davis knows the life of military children. He grew up with two military parents and understands the challenges that can come with the lifestyle.
"Just yesterday I was one of these kids that was on Fort Stewart Hunter Airfield in that area down in South Georgia," the Commanders' linebacker recalled.
Davis returned to the military base setting on Friday, serving as the featured guest for a youth camp being held for children at Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Hampton. Davis spoke briefly to the camp upon his arrival, took pictures with each of the youth teams and played in games with the campers.
"Anytime you get an opportunity to come back and give back to your community where you're from, basically, it's a blessing," he said. "You always just take advantage of it and do as much as you can for the community."
The linebacker is going into his second year with Washington after the team drafted him in the first round back in 2021. Davis was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, and moved with his parents wherever they went. He remembers being the kid who was looking up to his favorite players. Now he has the platform to be that difference-maker.
"Sometimes it feels surreal just knowing that you've got kids looking up to you, saying 'oh yeah, I want to wear a Jamin Davis jersey,'" Davis noted. "You just want to do as much as you can to go out and be a positive role model and just give kids something to look up to in a positive way."
"They deserve a lot of respect and gratitude for what they do everyday as children for their military parents," added Colonel Gregory Beaulieu, Installation Commander of Joint Base Langley-Eustis. "To have Jamin here today, put on a camp and show them that hey, if you work hard, teamwork, leadership, followership, you can be an NFL player also someday."
Davis is getting ready for training camp in Ashburn, which kicks off next week. He wants those attending the camp to know that they can set and reach big goals as well.
"Having a military background and growing up on a military base is nothing but an excuse of why you can't become whatever you want to be in life, whether that's football or an engineer or whatever it is in life," he said. "Never let somebody tell you that you can't do anything."
Davis reports to training camp on Tuesday for a conditioning test with his Commanders teammates. The first full day of camp kicks off on Wednesday.
