YPSILANTI, Mich. – Washington Commanders wide receiver K.J. Osborn and former Seattle Seahawks tight end Tyler Mabry will return to their hometown of Ypsilanti to host their 4th annual Youth Football Camp on May 31.
The football camp for kids in grades three through nine will occur at Lincoln High School, Mabry and Osborn’s former high school.
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Over 200 kids will get the chance to expand their skills at the Youth Football Camp, which features a skills session with Mabry and Osborn, a camp t-shirt, food, autograph signings, a DJ, prizes for camp MVPs, and more.
The camp aims to focus on the fundamentals of football while also creating a fun experience for the kids.
“Football is a kids’ game,” said Osborn. “And we even say that now in the NFL, we’re playing the kids’ game. It’s about fun. And I think that’s the number one thing that we try to stress in our camp. After that, it’s the fundamentals, teaching the game of football. The basics of football are very simple. It’s tackling, it’s running, it’s catching, it’s throwing. Those are the fundamentals.”
“One thing we want to tell these kids when we see them is, get one percent better,” said Mabry. “You’re not going to get 10 percent better today. You’re not going to get 20 percent but if you get one percent better, you won.”
Mabry and Osborn have been close friends since elementary school in the Lincoln Consolidated Schools District.
At a young age, they shared dreams of reaching the NFL and giving back to the Ypsilanti community.
“We said when we were younger, if we ever made it ‘D1′ or if we ever made it to the NFL, we have to give back, because we know how important it is for someone to pour into the younger generation," said Mabry.
“It was always a goal of ours to give back to the community,” said Osborn. “Every year we speak to the kids, we always tell them this is a dream come true for us to be able to give back to our community because this is something that me and Tyler spoke about our whole time growing up. To be able to give back to our community, to host a camp, and we’re blessed to be able to do it four years in now.”
Mabry and Osborn have approached their football careers together, making nearly every move in unison with each other.
Both played three seasons at Lincoln High School before transferring to IMG Academy for their senior season.
Both excelled at IMG and committed to Buffalo University, where they each played three seasons.
The pair separated for their senior seasons, in which Mabry transferred to Maryland and Osborn transferred to Miami.
Osborn was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the fifth round of the 2020 NFL draft as a wide receiver.
Osborn recorded impressive stats over three seasons with the Vikings, tallying 158 receptions, 1845 receiving yards, and 15 touchdowns. Entering the 2025 season, he will play for the Washington Commanders.
Mabry signed with the Seattle Seahawks in 2020. In the 2022 season, he recorded his first career touchdown. Mabry is trying out for several teams ahead of the 2025 NFL season.
Their NFL careers have allowed them to inspire kids in the Ypsilanti community and help create an organic base of athletes within the school district.
“We want to give hope to the kids in Lincoln,” said Mabry. “If you go way back into the history, everybody came from ‘Ypsi’ and they just moved to different schools. So we just want to remind the kids, stay at Lincoln. There’s some good coaches. There’s people that believe in you. We want to let them know we believe in them as well.”
Osborn and Mabry credit their faith for their football careers as well as their willingness and ability to host this football camp.
“Our gifts aren’t for ourselves,” said Osborn. “Our gifts are for other people. The Lord has given us these gifts. Somebody poured into us, so it’s our job to pour into to the next generation. And I think that’s what we do with the camp.”
Participants are advised to wear athletic attire, bring sneakers or football cleats, bring a water bottle, wear sunscreen, and check in at the “check-in table” to receive a camp T-shirt.
The camp begins at 9 a.m. and ends at 2 p.m. Online registration is completely free.