College football stars surprise Poway special athletes

The usual buzz that echoes throughout the Meadowbrook Middle School gymnasium during the Poway Youth League Challenge Division’s basketball practices was heightened just a tad around 7:15 p.m. Tuesday.

That’s when news of a visit from two of the top available quarterbacks in this year’s NFL draft began to spread.

Fifteen minutes later, Jameis Winston and Bryce Petty walked through the doors to smiles and handshakes from some of the 100-plus challenged athletes in the gym.

Winston, a projected top-five pick out of Florida State, and Petty, a projected third-round selection out of Baylor University, spent the evening sharing laughs, smiles and fist bumps while playing basketball with the challenged athletes for about an hour.

“This is fantastic,” said Petty, who like Winston is in the San Diego area preparing for the NFL Scouting Combine in February with esteemed quarterback instructor George Whitfield, who was also there Tuesday.

“When you look around, (the challenged athletes) just give you so much perspective on life. I am sitting here waking up healthy ... with a lot of blessings that really is only by the grace of God that I have. So, when you get to come out here and experience these kids that have a whole lot more challenges than you and I, but they are smiling and laughing and having a lot of fun still; that really is what life is all about.”

Before the basketball action even began, Winston spotted an athlete wearing a No. 5 Poway jersey and he autographed the back of it. Winston wore No. 5 in his two years at Florida State.

“It was awesome and incredible,” said 17-year-old Sam Utter, who was the recipient of that autograph. “It felt awesome ... He said to rock on.”

The challenged athletes were not only excited to have Winston and Petty in the building, they were also thrilled to see the ESPN camera crews filming the action for an upcoming documentary on the two stars.

“It was a lot of fun,” said 33-year-old Chris Alarcon, who has been playing in the PYL Challenge Division for some 12 years.

Alarcon spent a few minutes with Petty talking about Chuck Norris and showing off some kick boxing moves.

Winston, who won the 2013 Heisman Trophy, flashed his million-dollar smile often while playing basketball with the challenged athletes. He also gave several high-fives and a few hugs.

Afterwards, both Winston and Petty posed for pictures and signed autographs.

“The kids have a great time amongst themselves, but anytime they get introduced to celebrities it just heightens their enthusiasm,” said Tony Rubino, who is a coach in the PYL Challenge Division. “A certain percentage of these kids know these guys as athletes. So, when they see them in person like this, they are going to remember it forever.”

The PYL Challenge Division was started 24 years ago with the help of now vice president Linda Bradbury. The league consists of challenged athletes from age 10 and up. They practice every Tuesday night at Meadowbrook Middle School.