'I love it every time I come here': NFL Guard Will Hernandez enjoys leading free football camp

Will Hernandez is a native of Las Vegas and a professional football player in Arizona, but there is part of him that will always be a UTEP Miner from El Paso.

The former All-American guard who graduated from UTEP in 2017 and current Arizona Cardinal was in town Friday for the first of what he expects will become an annual free football camp, the Mijo Things Football Camp, for children between 8 and 13. Close to 200 of them braved overcast skies at Hanks High to participate.

They seemed thrilled, and so did Hernandez, both to be working with the campers and to be back at one of his hometowns.

"It was a fun, fun time for me," said Hernandez, who will also be in town next week for the Aaron and Alvin Jones softball game. "I enjoyed hanging out with all these kids who came out even though the weather was a little iffy. These kids showed heart and came out anyway. I love it every time I come here.

"I came here as a 17-year-old kid. I still had a lot of growing up to do, a lot of things to experience and a lot of new customs to get used to. I learned a lot of those while I was here for 5 years.

"I learned how to eat Chico's Tacos the right way, I learned the culture of El Paso, Texas. It's its own little sauce, its own little swag and I feel like I adapted to it. I enjoy that; it's part of me."

He brought along former New York Giants teammates Chad Slade and Nick Gates and was also helped out by several former UTEP offensive line teammates.

The camp ended up having nice weather, as the rain held off and the cloud cover held temperatures into the mid-80s. It started at 9 a.m. and ran past the noon end time, then the campers queued up to get their picture taken with Hernandez.

More: Dallas Cowboys star Micah Parsons makes return to El Paso for youth football camp

His message to them was about more than football.

"Something that's very important to me is knowing I have something to work for," he said. "That's what makes competition great, that's what makes our country great. That's the base of it, it's competition. I want these kids to learn that hard work is not just done to do hard work.

"It has something of value if you do it the right way. It's something I want to instill in these kids: If you want something you have to go after it."

As for the "Mijo" thing, "It's a brotherhood. Everybody has friends, but only a few guys have Mijos," Hernandez said. "That's your tight-knit group, guys you really bond with. That's what a football team is at the end of the day. It's a bunch of Mijos working for the same goal, with the same mentality, who want to win."

Elijah Friesen, a 13-year-old at Hornedo Middle School, took something else away from the camp that will bring a smile to Hernandez.

"You have to always be there for your teammates no matter what," Friesen said. "They're your brothers and you always need to be there for them and they are there for you.

"This was a fun experience. I'll definitely do it again."

Sander Mendez, 10, picked up some football skills.

"I'm learning how to get down in a stance, how to compete in drills," he said. "I loved it. It was great meeting Will Hernandez."

That was part of the point.

"It's important being able to come and be a physical presence for these kids, being here live and in person," Hernandez said. "It has an effect on these kids. They see me on Instagram and all these websites, but it hits differently when they see me here in person and see me live.

"The reason we do these camps isn't the money. It's to instill in these kids things that can change their lives. We want to make a difference. El Paso has a lot of energy, the tools. There is a lot of potential here. If we can get it channeled the right way, on the right track, you'll start to see El Paso football go up."

Hernandez was doing his part Friday.

Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Arizona Cardinals' Will Hernandez enjoys free football camp in El Paso