Dylan Parham and Zamir White might have seen some potential future NFL receivers Thursday evening at the Donald W. Reynolds Boys & Girls Club.
The two rookies were running block shedding and release drills with some children when one young boy, who couldn't have been older than 10 years old, made a solid routine push off a Dylan Parham block. White, who was tasked with the duties of covering the kids on their routes, let the boy slide by him to make the catch on the drill – watching him ultimately make an impressive diving one-handed catch.
It made quite the impression on Parham and White.
"We've seen some sneaky athletes in here man, it was crazy," Parham told Raiders.com. "One of the guys, whew! One-handed snag on Zamir, it was crazy. I could really see the enjoyment from this and how excited they were. You could see the smiles and that was the best part about all of this."
This was one of the first opportunities the Raiders rookie class has had to get involved within the Las Vegas community, facilitating a football clinic for over 50 children, ranging from ages 7-12.
Along with running drills, the rookies took photos with the kids and the club received an autographed ball from the class. In return, the Raiders organization received the Program Services Partner of the Year Award – in recognition of the team's never-ending support and commitment to the mission of Boys & Girls Clubs of Southern Nevada.
The volunteer experience with the Boys & Girls Club was a full-circle moment for Parham, who spent time in the organization as a middle `schooler in Carrollton, Georgia. He recognizes that he could have the same impact on young lives in Las Vegas the same way that others have poured into him.
"It was cool to be in that type of environment and setting again reliving some of those moments," said Parham. "We didn't have opportunities like this to have a professional team come out and play with us like this in that time period, so it's really feels good to give back in that aspect.
"Some of my best friends I have to this day I met through the Boys & Girls Clubs. ... The whole organization, from the friends to the staff that I had in that time period, they really helped me throughout those years."
James Bearse, the director of marketing for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Southern Nevada, was elated to see the kids show off their best football skills to some pro talent. He believes the Silver and Black has been a welcome addition to the desert, and is looking forward to a continued partnership.
"The kids get to interact with the athletes and just realize that they're regular people that happen to be five to six times bigger than them," said Bearse. "So when they get to meet the athletes, they realize that they care for the community, they care for the kids and they get to have a blast interacting with them.
"It's always a special time when they get to come out and participate with us."
The Las Vegas Raiders rookie class visited the Donald W. Reynolds Boys & Girls Club in Henderson to learn about the services the organization provides to the Las Vegas community as well as host a Raiders Junior Training Camp.