Like a kid again: Ajian, Grose team up during Nike Skills Football Camp

MANSFIELD — When Mansfield Senior football coach and Nike Skills Football Camp Director Chioke Bradley called all of the kids who wanted to play defensive back to the field, it was a mad rush.

Waiting to receive the group of campers was former Mansfield Senior Tyger and current Michigan State Spartan Angelo Grose and former Madison Ram and current Kentucky Wildcat Tyrell Ajian.

No wonder why everyone at the camp wanted to play defensive back.

What kid wouldn't want to learn from two of the best high school football players to ever suit up in Richland County?

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But what the campers didn't know is Grose and Ajian wanted to be just like them. The enthusiasm and energy they brought to their position groups proved they wanted to be kids again.

"I am running around doing the drills, laughing and having fun," Grose said. "It definitely feels like I am a kid again."

Grose was a standout for the Tygers for four years, but no year was better than his 2019 season when he led Mansfield Senior to the Division III state championship game. He was also runner-up for the 2019 Ohio Mr. Football award

He was the Division III Defensive Player of the Year in Ohio that season after he led the Tygers in tackles with 112 including 16 for a loss. He had 1.5 sacks and forced three fumbles, recovered one and had two interceptions, one of them in the second overtime of the Tygers' state semifinal win over Aurora.

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Despite all of his accomplishments, Grose went into his college football journey at Michigan State blind.

That was when Ajian, a former rival of Grose's, stepped in. Ajian had already completed a few seasons at Kentucky and had learned the college football ropes. He reached out to Grose and offered to answer any and all questions he might have about life at the next level.

"I got into college before him, but when he got in I reached out just to let him know if he needed someone to talk to and give him the rundown of how college football might go, I would be there for him," Ajian said. "I told him to hit my phone anytime."

Grose took advantage right away.

"When you go into college, you go in blind," Grose said. "You don't know what to expect from workout demands or the technique it takes to play college football. Then comes the school part of it all. Just to have someone to go to and talk about those things is a luxury."

Who better to learn from than a kid who came from the same community and was now making noise at the next level?

Last season, Ajian finished with 46 tackles and four pass breakups for the Wildcats (10-3). He also had one interception that he returned for a 95-yard touchdown in a win over Chattanooga on Sept. 18.

Over the last week, Ajian and Grose grew even closer as they teamed up to teach a group of young, aspiring football players the tricks of the trade. They worked with the defensive backs group — Grose is a safety at MSU and Ajian is a cornerback at Kentucky — and the kids left with a wealth of knowledge, knowledge Grose and Ajian wish they had received when they were kids.

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"It is great with both of us being at great schools with great coaches who teach us a lot about the game," Ajian said. "We both have a bunch of different things we can tell each other and tell the kids while showing the things we learned after high school. We didn't get anything like this in high school where we had someone in my ear telling me such simple things."

Grose agreed.

"There are so many simple things we can tell these kids that will make them better football players," Grose said. "I didn't hear those things when I was in high school or before so to be able to share that knowledge with these kids is a blessing."

But most of all, Grose and Ajian wanted to give back to their communities through the game.

"It feels really good," Grose said. "The vibes were good, we had music playing and we are all having fun. It felt really good out there."

Ajian, who attended a camp similar to the Nike Skills Football Camp when he was younger, said he felt like he was blessed to be in a position to do what the players did for him during his youth camp.

"It is like a full circle," Ajian said. "When I was in third or fourth grade, I was doing this same exact camp over at Lexington. So now, being able to work it and do the same things with the kids is amazing. I remember how much fun I had at that camp, and to be able to give these kids that feeling is great."

Both Grose and Ajian spent three days putting the kids through drills they themselves go through on a daily basis as college football players. They then sat in the stands with the kids during lunch, just talking with them about their football hopes and dreams.

They smiled, laughed, danced and celebrated.

Just like they were kids again.

jfurr@gannett.com

740-244-9934

Twitter: @JakeFurr11

This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Angelo Grose, Tyrell Ajian teach kids at Nike Skills Football Camp