Jalen Hurts surprises young athletes at football game as Kellogg’s donates to Philly schools

This was already no ordinary middle school flag-football game on a steaming stadium turf in East Mount Airy Sunday afternoon.

There was a professional camera crew circling the players during the pre-game stretching. CBS Sports announcers sat in one end-zone, preparing to call the play-by-play. And Tony the Tiger, the very recognizable breakfast cereal mascot, was serving as coach and cut-up with the kids.

And then Jalen Hurts took the field.

The students from the Frances Hopkinson School and Middle Years Alternative were at first stunned and then ecstatic to have the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback directing coverages during the game and discussing plays in the huddle.

Joseph Roberts, a 13-year-old Hopkinson student, has been playing pickup football for five years. But this was his first organized ball, with a camera crew and NFL star and cereal mascot.

“I’m shocked,” he said. “To be on this field, with Tony the Tiger, I’m surprised.”

Kellogg’s, which makes Frosted Flakes and other cereals, donated $75,000 from its Mission Tiger program to the Philadelphia School District to help start six flag-football teams for girls and restart three Rookie Tackle teams — a program that instructs players on the fundamentals of of the game — for boys.

Footage of Sunday’s game will air as a story during CBS Sports coverage of NFL games in the season that starts next week.

Hurts, who ran plays for four quarters at the flag-football game, said coaching comes naturally. His father and brother coach football.

“These are kids that have big dreams, you know, and they hadn’t really had the resources they need to chase them,” he said. “Hopefully it’s just going to make a change and be a big help to them.”

Hurts grew up in Houston and recalled going to a Houston Texans practice, where wide receiver Andre Johnson gave him advice and a pair of cleats.

“I know these things go a long way, just being able to have impact and put a smile on their faces and see them do what they love playing ball, it’s beautiful,” he said.

Being Philly, there was some tough chatter.

Tymeer Terry, a 12-year-old Hopkinson student who spent part of the game at quarterback, cautioned Hurts about spending too much time out of the pocket, suggesting it opened him up to fumbling and possible injury.

“That’s bad ju-ju, man,” said Hurts, laughing it off. Terry, a pocket passer, had several completions in tight coverage, one for a touchdown.

Hurts called his friend, new Eagles wideout A.J. Brown, during halftime, videoconferencing with several of the Middle Years Alternative students in the background.

“Are those real diamonds,” one of the students asked, spotting Brown’s bling on the phone.

The School District of Philadelphia launched Rookie Tackle in 2017 as a middle-school pilot program. Teams of seven players compete on a 40-yard field.

Tim Morrison, the district’s vice president for youth sports development, said the program had “dwindled” during the pandemic.

“So with this donation we’re getting teams up off the ground and running,” he said. “We’re going to be able to get different populations of students back into the sport.”