NFL, college standouts set for All-American football camp at Hilton Head Island

Former Lowcountry football greats Poona Ford, Jaylen Sneed and other football players from across the country will descend on Hilton Head Island this weekend.

The 19th annual All-American Football Camp will be held Friday through Sunday at Hilton Head Island High School. The camp will run from 5:30-8:30 p.m. on Friday and 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday and Sunday.

The camp was started by HHI coach BJ Payne back when he was in Ohio and has continued since arriving in the Lowcountry. The camp is for kindergarten through eighth graders. The cost is $160 and you can register online at www.islandreccenter.org. Price includes a T-Shirt and autographed poster.

Ford and Sneed, two former Hilton Head Island standouts, will be among the star-studded list of instructors for the camp. Ford signed with the San Diego Chargers in March and is beginning his seventh season in the National Football League.

Sneed was one of the most decorated athletes to come out of HHI and was the 2021 SC Mr. Football. He wrapped up his redshirt sophomore season at Notre Dame last year, appearing in all 13 games and making 14 tackles.

Former Georgia kicker Rodrigo Blankenship, who was on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers roster last year also will be an instructor. Others include Hilton Head Island’s Gaston Moore (Tennessee) and Shaikh Thompson (East Carolina), Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love, Billy Schrauth and Christian Gray, Penn State receiver Julian Fleming, Ohio State’s CJ Hicks, Morehouse’s Jaiden Jones and Coastal Carolina’s Noah Kim.

Love was Notre Dame’s second-leading rusher last season and Kim started five games at quarterback for Michigan State last year before transferring to CCU.