Former Ohio State wide receiver Roy Hall was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the fifth round of the 2007 draft, and is now on a mission to share his dream of a life in the NFL with the youth of America by holding an instructional football camp for high school players seeking the same dream.

Hall and eight other NFL players and 20 former Buckeye players from different eras will be at Harvest Preparatory School in Canal Winchester, OH outside Columbus on July 19 for the one-day camp.

Camp facilitators will breakdown the game of football by position and teach the fundamentals of being a good football player. The participants will learn what Hall and others learned at the Division-I and pro levels.

Selected celebrity coaches will speak at the event on things such as education and what it takes to be successful in life after football.

There will be food, camp T-shirts, giveaways and an autograph session for the participants of the camp.

The camp is open to the public for individuals entering the 9th through 12th grades. Kickoff time is at 8:00 a.m. and runs through 4:30 p.m.

During a recent interview with Hall, he expressed deep admiration for wanting to give back to the community and help the kids.

"It's really a good situation for me and the kids," Hall said. "A lot of people have youth football camps, but I have a passion for this because I want to be a high school coach when it's all said and done. Hopefully, if I'm blessed to make enough money to where I don't have to worry about finances and financial issues when I'm done with football, I can just coach football and mentor these kids.

"I was a kid raised without a dad and my high school coach was the person I leaned on for fatherly advice. I really want to give back to the kids and let them know that it takes more than just being talented and fast to become successful on and off the football field."

Hall said that former high school coach Eric Mitchell and former Buckeye's assistance strength coach Jack Johnson really helped him grow spiritually. Hall couldn't reiterate enough the importance of player-coach relationship at the grade school level.

"That's when the kids are most vulnerable," he said. "That's when they're growing from boys to men. I want to be able to impact their lives and show them that there is an alternate route for underprivileged children and those who are having a hard time in life hanging in the streets doing next to nothing. Then going to practice thinking about playing at Ohio State, but you have a 1.67 GPA. So we're just trying to get through to these kids."

Hall decided to do a high school camp rather than a youth camp because he wanted to be more hands-on and teach more advanced fundamentals and technique to prepare the teenagers for the next level.

"You do a youth camp and its cool. I love playing with the younger kids," he said. "I've worked a number of camps for the guys, but the thing that's pretty consistent across the board is that the kids have a great time.

"Some of those kids never get a chance to do some of those things they do at these camps, but it's hard to teach them. With the high school kids I want to drill in their head what it takes to get to the next level in life. Young kids don't have to worry about that yet."

In between working out and preparing for the upcoming NFL season, Hall has been very active in some community outreach programs. His ultimate goal is to work with the teenagers on keeping the right mindset as well as be a positive influence in their lives and someone they will never forget.

As for Hall's playing career, the Colts are expecting big things out of him this year. Hall was making a name for himself on special-teams his rookie season before suffering a shoulder injury in the third game of the season against the Houston Texans. He was placed on injured reserve, ending his season.

Hall is back healthy and the injured shoulder is said to be in perfect shape. He's learned the offense and progressing well as a receiver. He had a good showing in OTAs and mini-camp making one play after another.

Hall said he feels a lot more comfortable in the offense and Colt fans will continue to see him on special-teams, playing hard, working hard, making big tackles and big hits because that's what he does.

• For more information about Roy Hall's Football Skills Camp go to www.royhall83.com.

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