Lutcher, La. — Three-time NFL Pro Bowl wide receiver, Jarvis Landry, may be with a new team this season, but he’ll always be tied to Louisiana– where he not only grew up, but also attended college.
“Home is home,” said Browns wide receiver Jarvis Landry. “No matter how far you go, your heart is always here.”
Landry hosted his 4th annual Jarvis Landry GiveBack event at his alma mater, Lutcher High School, getting out on the football field and coaching the kids through every drill station out there.
“It’s very important,” Landry said. “I know that when I was their age, nobody ever really came back to Lutcher and did this for us. I told myself that if I ever got the opportunity to play in the NFL that just to be able to come back and be here for the kids and the youth was something that’s near and dear to my heart.”
In addition to the hour-long football camp part of the mentoring event, Landry also held a Q&A session with the kids, had a book bag and school supply giveaway, and even presented a Lutcher graduate with a $5,000 scholarship and a TV.
“It’s not just football,” Landry said. “It’s also school too. We’ve got to acknowledge that too. Education is definitely the first step of heading to where ever you want to go. I’m a firm believer in that and that’s part of the reason for the scholarship.”
The former LSU Tiger spent his first four seasons in the league with the Miami Dolphins, but was traded to the Cleveland Browns in March.
“At the end of the day, it’s football,” Landry said. “It’s another opportunity for me to play. Obviously the stigma, the aura of the Cleveland Browns of going 0-16 and all of that is around but we’re here to change that.”
The trade has meant a lot more time in the playbook this off-season, but the real challenge is going to be the weather change– having spent his entire life in either Louisiana or Florida.
“It was snowing in April,” Landry said. “I called my mom and I was like, ‘Can I miss OTAs?’ But it’s good. When I was at LSU, I was fortunate enough to be coached by an NFL coach named Cam Cameron. One of the first things he came in and said was you’ve got to be weather-proof. No matter the circumstances, no matter what’s going on– rain, sleet, snow– we’ve got to perform. I took that to heart and I think this is an opportunity to prove him right, if my success in the cold continues.”
