Photo Gallery: Ninth Annual Malcolm Butler Football Camp

Published 4:52 pm Saturday, July 22, 2023

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Former NFL star and Vicksburg native Malcolm Butler, right, works a drill against Blake Muirhead on Saturday at Butler's annual football camp at Vicksburg High School. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Attendees of the Ninth Annual Malcolm Butler Football Camp pose for a photo before the event begins Saturday at Vicksburg High's Memorial Stadium. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Aden Patterson hops over some pads during a drill Saturday at the Malcolm Butler Football Camp. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Rayjohn Oatis catches a football Saturday at the Malcolm Butler Football Camp. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Patrick Moore catches a football Saturday at the Malcolm Butler Football Camp. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Kayden Ross cuts back at the sideline during a drill Saturday at the Malcolm Butler Football Camp. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

From left, Rayjohn Oatis, Ashton King and Lendell Brenson gulp down some water Saturday at the Malcolm Butler Football Camp. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Jamari Johnson cuts back at the sideline during a drill Saturday at the Malcolm Butler Football Camp. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Robert Johnson steps over some pads during a drill Saturday at the Malcolm Butler Football Camp. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Campers hop over tackling pads during a drill Saturday at the Malcolm Butler Football Camp. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Former NFL star and Vicksburg native Malcolm Butler watches the action Saturday at his annual football camp at Vicksburg High School. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Former NFL star and Vicksburg native Malcolm Butler, right, talks to Ajavion McGrew Saturday at Butler's annual football camp at Vicksburg High School. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Shakell Davis, left, and her brother Mykel Davis race each other during a drill Saturday at the Malcolm Butler Football Camp. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Andrew Patten steps through a rope ladder during a drill Saturday at the Malcolm Butler Football Camp. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Former NFL star and Vicksburg native Malcolm Butler catches a football Saturday at his annual football camp at Vicksburg High School. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Former NFL star and Vicksburg native Malcolm Butler signs an autograph Saturday at his annual football camp at Vicksburg High School. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Former NFL star and Vicksburg native Malcolm Butler, right, catches a pass against Nazavion Jones during a drill Saturday at Butler's annual football camp at Vicksburg High School. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Landon Henderson runs through a drill Saturday at the Malcolm Butler Football Camp. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Players and coaches take a breather on the turf of Memorial Stadium Saturday during the Malcolm Butler Football Camp. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Vicksburg High football coach Shaun Archer hauls a box of snacks across the field Saturday at the Malcolm Butler Football Camp. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Dayquan Warfield hauls in a long pass during a one-on-one drill Saturday at the Malcolm Butler Football Camp. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

James Warfield catches a pass against Will Simpson during a one-on-one drill Saturday at the Malcolm Butler Football Camp. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Gayvin Turner throws the football Saturday at the Malcolm Butler Football Camp. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Dontavious Thomas, left, and Deandrew Weathersby, right, poses for a photo with their Port Gibson Titans youth football coach David Jones Saturday at the Malcolm Butler Football Camp. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Players gather at midfield near the end of the Malcolm Butler Football Camp Saturday at Vicksburg High School. Nearly 400 children ranging in age from elementary to high school attended the camp. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Former NFL star and Vicksburg native Malcolm Butler, left, poses for a photo with Will Simpson Saturday at Butler's annual football camp at Vicksburg High School. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Former NFL star and Vicksburg native Malcolm Butler talks to players Saturday at his annual youth football camp at Vicksburg High School. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Former NFL star and Vicksburg native Malcolm Butler, left, poses for a photo with Frank Lundy Saturday at Butler's annual football camp at Vicksburg High School. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

More than 400 children ranging in age from elementary to high school attended the Ninth Annual Malcolm Butler Football Camp Saturday morning at Vicksburg High School’s Memorial Stadium.

The players participated in football drills for nearly three hours, under the watchful eye of Butler, VHS coaches, and college players from Alcorn State and Jackson State. Although some of the drills were competitive, the atmosphere of the event was friendly and fun more than it was intense.

The camp started in 2015 after Butler, then a rookie cornerback, helped the New England Patriots defeat the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX by making a game-saving interception at the goal line in the final minute of the game. Butler, a Vicksburg native and former VHS star, went on to play seven seasons in the NFL with the Patriots and Tennessee Titans. He helped New England win another Super Bowl in the 2016 season and get to a third in 2017.

Butler’s camp has been held on the third Saturday of July each year since.

“This camp is not about making it to the NFL. It’s about being a young man or young lady when you grow up. It just means a lot,” Butler said. “Just learn how to compete on and off the field no matter what, and find something to do to be constructive and do right.”

MORE COVERAGE: Malcolm Butler Football Camp becomes a beloved Vicksburg tradition

About Ernest Bowker

Ernest Bowker is The Vicksburg Post's sports editor. He has been a member of The Vicksburg Post's sports staff since 1998, making him one of the longest-tenured reporters in the paper's 140-year history. The New Jersey native is a graduate of LSU. In his career, he has won more than 50 awards from the Mississippi Press Association and Associated Press for his coverage of local sports in Vicksburg.

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