‘I just want to give back’

Known as “The Camp,” the event was created by Elliott Brown, a sophomore receiver from Omaha. Brown started the camp after NIL regulations were passed, and says that it’s important for the team to reach out to Nebraska youth.

“At one point I was one of these kids, wanting to be a Husker,” Brown said.

Brown is thrilled with how the third year of “The Camp” has begun. During its beginning stages back in 2021, “we barely reached 80 to, if we got lucky, 90 (attendees).”

However, “The Camp” and enthusiasm around it have grown tremendously. It’s now to the point where, according to Brown, “I think we counted almost 150 to 170 kids at this first location.”

Brown’s teammates also noted the importance of the team maintaining ties with the fan base. John Bullock, a junior linebacker from Omaha, said, “I know how much they support us as a football team, so I just want to give back and support them as well.”

The support from the fans creates a lot of motivation for the Nebraska players. Quarterback Heinrich Haarberg says that “seeing all those kids out there really helps us,” especially because “it shows the fanbase, how strong it is, even through the tough times.”

Aside from teaching fundamentals, the camp also helps build community, which can be found not just among the participants, but the Husker players running the camp as well.

Haarberg, from Kearney Catholic, talked about how the camp helped create camaraderie among the players in attendance, and “build a brotherhood.” Brown has seen that brotherhood in action, noting that as the camp has grown, he has received support from a larger number of players, as well as Matt Rhule’s coaching staff.

However, the community and the attendees remain the main focus of the camp. Haarberg spoke about the importance of “being a Nebraska kid giving back to the community,” and noted that, like Brown, he “was once in all these kids’ shoes.”

Katie Selk, whose son Leo was a camp attendee, was grateful for the opportunity for her son to learn lessons not just about football, but about life. As she put it, the camp helps the kids, who range from first to sixth grade, see that “hard work can pay off.”

The camp also provides a good chance for kids who generally wouldn’t interact to get to know each other. Selk says the camp “helps bring kids from all the different schools in the area together … and just come together as a group.”

Brown and his teammates will be able to continue creating those groups at three more camps later this summer. The next iteration of “The Camp” will be on June 28 at Millard South.