Former NFL running back Chris Warren returns to the valley for annual Fastest 40 football camp

ROANOKE, Va. – Professional athletes like Troy Daniels and Tarell Basham have been flocking to the Roanoke Valley for summer camps. On Saturday, Ferrum alum and former NFL running back Chris Warren made his return trip to host this year's Fastest 40 camp. 

"I want to give back. I'm giving the kids some of what I was able to be successful with, teaching them things I learned along the way, life lessons good and bad," Warren said. "Just hoping they can learn from me and find their own way."

Warren teamed up with Craig County head football coach Mark Warren to create the speed camp. 

"I've known Mark for years. He's a great coach. I've always come to these camps , and we've learned so much from these camps, I would suggest anybody out there come next year," sophomore Dakota Gilliam said. "There's amazing technique and drills we learn out here."

But it's not just about the skills and drills, Harrison recruited Warren to come host the camp because of his experienced career and his willingness to teach. 

"I need somebody like Chris because he is so good with kids," Harrison explained. "In the hour and a half I've been out here, I've seen a difference in these kids. Not everybody can be a great player and great coach, but Chris is just that. And when he talks, they listen."

"He's taught so much more stuff, he's brought more to this camp then there's ever has been," Gilliam added.

And Warren shared a little wisdom with the kids about life as well. 

"The main one is to bring out the champion inside you. Everyone has a champion inside them. Everyone has a winner inside them, an All-American inside them," he said. "It's my job to bring that out and give these kids the confidence and teach them things they can not only use on the field but also off the football field."