SPARTANBURG, S.C. - When the final horn sounded at the Panthers last training camp in Spartanburg, most players made a beeline for the locker room.
But a handful of players -- like Luke Kuechly, Thomas Davis, Graham Gano, Donte Jackson and Christian McCaffrey -- stuck around to sign autographs.
So did Torrey Smith.
The Panthers wide receiver started signing by the practice field, an area where not a lot of players walk over to.
"I always start on that end signing autographs because there's no one there, and we always finish running there. So it's just crazy how it played out today," Smith explained.
While signing, a group of kids in matching black polo shirts and khaki shorts called his name, so he went over ready to fire off a few more signatures.
"I found out that they were in a youth group where a couple of them had made bad decisions in the past and I just told them y'all come around to the other side so we can talk for a second," Smith said.
The group of boys was from AMI Kids, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping youth develop into responsible and productive citizens. Their vision is separating a trouble past from a bright future. The kids had all been in some sort of trouble in the past, or been in a tough situations at home.
With smiles on the faces, the boys nearly ran on the field as they scooted through a small opening in the fence. Smith was waiting with words of encouragement.
"My message to them was about not letting your past define you. We've all made mistakes, none of us are perfect and y'all are lucky you have the opportunity to go out there and change it, especially while you are young," Smith said.
Smith's talk with the kids resonated more because of his own past. The story of his childhood has been told countless times, as he was raised by a single mother who was in and out of jail.
"I told them the example of my mother, how when you make a mistake when you're young it doesn't forgive you. It's going to hang with you when you want to get a job, get a loan, whatever it may be. And sometimes people don't get it removed. I just talked to them about not letting it hold them back, not letting society hold them back," Smith explained.
The group huddled around Smith for about five minutes, listening to every word of advice the professional football player offered.
"Football is something that everyone is able to see, but real life and the things that these kids are going through and the things they live through, we all have things in common. I think it's important and I think I'd be doing a disservice to everyone if I didn't go out and explain to them that the situation that they're in they can't control that," Smith said.
"That's what I learned at a young age, it didn't matter what was going on around me if I stuck with the books and stayed out of trouble I stood a chance at making it out and that's what I did."
He made it out, and now he continues to make an impact.
Torrey Smith didn't have to stay after his last day of practice and sign autographs. He didn't have to bring the boys on the field to personally deliver a motivational message. And he didn't have to spend another fifteen minutes talking to the media about why he connected with the AMI Kids.
But for Smith, even on the last day of training camp when everyone wants to get home, being a football player is about more than just what happens on the field, because sometimes players can have a different kind of impact when they step off.
