PONTIAC >> Following repeated chants of “We want JaMo,” the boys and girls planted near the 50-yard line at Notre Dame Prep High School were greeted by not one, but two Detroit Lions players.

Somewhere around 300 participants from ages 6 to 16 showed up for the youth football camp Sunday afternoon featuring Lions receiver Jameson Williams, who was joined by teammate Kerby Joseph.

All campers got a photo with Williams — and a few did as well with Joseph, who even signed one participants’ shoes — and a couple of lucky ones were able to haul in a deep pass from the four-year pro.

“I do it just to see the smiles on the kids’ faces, you know, bring joy to them,” Williams said. “They might not ever get to see a person in my position because (some of them), they stay to themselves, don’t get out in the community. I want to be a face in the community, help the kids, give some motivation.”

Kids were split into age groups and rotated through a number of stations at the camp, presented by, FlexWork Sports Management, a company that teams up with college and pro athletes throughout the US and Canada. Stations included a variety of exercises, including back pedal and ladder drills.

When asked if any campers have tried to race him, Williams laughed. “Nobody, but they always ask me about whether I’m faster than another player, and I always say yes,” he said.

Due to injury, Williams never ran the 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine, leading to questions over what his time would be, only amplified by his claims he could run a 4.1 in the dash. Williams said on Sunday that he may not do a 40, but that he would probably run a 100-meter dash at some point in the future for fun.

When asked about the first player he was wowed by at a camp when he was younger, Williams named fellow St. Louis native and former New England Patriots running back Laurence Maroney.Campers weren’t the only ones getting face time with the Lions’ speedy target. Irish football players who were scattered throughout the stations as volunteers also got to meet and greet with Williams before things got underway.

“This is awesome,” said Josh Laura, a defensive back who will be a senior this fall for the defending D5 state champs. “Just being out here with the guys, showing the little kids what football’s like, it’s just a great experience for everyone and great for all us to be out here.”

ND Prep head coach Pat Fox was present, too, and talked about the benefit of opportunities like Sunday to expose so many kids to the campus.

“It’s a fantastic thing,” Fox said. “We’ve got beautiful facilities, and I think that’s tremendous. But more importantly, I think it perpetuates the game of football. It gives young kids a chance to enjoy playing this great game with some new kids, gives our kids a chance to work with them, show a little patience, giggle and laugh. And we got a chance to meet Mr. Williams and meet Kerby Joseph, and what a nice couple of young men they are. So yeah, we’re really excited, and we’re happy to have kids on our campus whenever we can.”

For the Irish players, getting out on the field on a hot, sunny afternoon was a reminder that practices are just on the horizon.

“Oh, absolutely,” Laura responded when asked if it gets the juices flowing. “We’ve got a strong squad coming back on offense and defense, bringing back our quarterback, linebackers on the squad. I’m so excited for this year and the team.”