Mostly Cloudy, 61°
Weather sponsored by:

Avril returns to Clay; new life off NFL field

By Ray DiMonda
Posted 6/20/18

GREEN COVE SPRINGS - Typically, not much is happening on the football field behind Clay High School on any given Saturday in June, unless that is the date for the annual Cliff Avril Football Skills …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Don't have an ID?


Print subscribers

If you're a print subscriber, but do not yet have an online account, click here to create one.

Non-subscribers

Click here to see your options for subscribing.

Single day pass

You also have the option of purchasing 24 hours of access, for $1.00. Click here to purchase a single day pass.

Avril returns to Clay; new life off NFL field


Posted

GREEN COVE SPRINGS - Typically, not much is happening on the football field behind Clay High School on any given Saturday in June, unless that is the date for the annual Cliff Avril Football Skills Camp. For six straight years, Avril has paid it forward, giving a little something back to the community he grew up in and where he played his high school football.

“I want to keep this thing going first and foremost, the camp and all the annual stuff, my foundation, and I want to keep giving back in different ways here in Clay County, to Seattle and to Haiti” said Avril when asked what he wanted in the future. This year the day camp was opened to 300 youth from Pop Warner, through High School, to work with several current and former NFL players, developing and honing their Football skills.

On hand for the event, were several NFL legends including Cliff Avril who played for the Blue Devils, attended Purdue University, and was drafted by the Detroit Lions. After five seasons, Avril went the way of free agency and found a new home in Seattle, playing for the Seahawks. Avril was a member of the 2013 Championship Super Bowl XLVIII squad that beat up on the Denver Broncos 43-8. Avril was selected to represent the Seahawks at the 2016 Pro Bowl in Orlando. Also in attendance were Clay High graduate Nolan Carroll who went on to play in Maryland, drafted by the Miami Dolphins, then onto the Philadelphia Eagles, and Dallas Cowboys; Defensive Tackle Red Bryant who played for the Seattle Seahawks, Jacksonville Jaguars, Buffalo Bills, and Arizona Cardinals; Steven Tulloch who played for the Tennessee Titans, Detroit Lions, and Philadelphia Eagles; Calais Campbell of the Arizona Cardinals, and the Jacksonville Jaguars; and Josh Evans also from the Jacksonville Jaguars, and Washington Redskins.

Avril suffered a serious neck injury in Week 4 of the 2017 season. During the first quarter of the Seattle - Indianapolis Colts game, he was kicked in his chin and began experiencing numbness in his arms. He was placed on injured reserve on October 20, 2017, and subsequently released May 4, 2018 with a failed physical designation. When asked what we could look forward to from him, Avril responded

“I have my own radio show in Seattle that I start next month, July 8th; Sports Talk Radio. It’s going to be fun and I’m still looking at a few other ventures and opportunities that may present themselves that I’ll tap into.”

Avril plans to call Seattle home, but said he will be back as his family still lives here in Florida. Asked about any thoughts on the 2018 Seahawks, Avril immediately talked about the Fifth-round draft selection of University of Central Florida Linebacker, and 2018 Peach Bowl Defensive MVP Shaquem Griffin. “That’s the type of stuff Coach Carol likes to do. He sees the potential in the Griffin brothers (twin brother and fellow UCF alumni Shaquill already plays for Seattle). We were watching them all year and I’m so happy they were able to get back together because they play so well when they are with each other. I can see them lighting up the NFL.”

Even with all the star power from the NFL players, the event could not go forward without the full support of several current Clay High Blue Devil football players, as well as the entire cast of the Blue Devil Coaching Staff. Keeping 300 youth engaged, corralled up, and motivated takes a small army.

From Avril’s Foundation Web Page, “The Cliff Avril Family Foundation mission is to increase the awareness of Type 2 diabetes in youth and to encourage healthy living through nutrition and exercise. As well as provide educational support and opportunities to youth in Haiti, along with various community-based organizations in Jacksonville, Seattle and Charlotte.”