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New Orleans Saints defensive back Martin Emerson can still remember what it was like attending camps hosted by former Pine Forest stars Mike Johnson and George Selvie.
What it was like to step into the gym and then walk on to the field at Lon R. Wise Stadium, where he would later star before heading to Mississippi State in 2019 and later the Cleveland Browns in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
It’s why he calls hosting his annual football camp “the opportunity of a lifetime.” After being a kid in the crowd more than a decade ago, he’s now the one giving back.
“One day they’ll be in our shoes and he’ll be leading our community,” Emerson said. “Any way I can better the generation and give them fruits, that’s what I’m willing to do. That’s why I feel like God has placed me here.”
This year, Emerson’s camp extended to two days. July 9 was for 7-on-7 pool play. The next day was for the youth camp with the 7-on-7 championships to follow.
The camps not only serve as a way for Emerson to inspire the next generation of Pensacola area football players, but also serve as a Pensacola-area football reunion too. Former NFL cornerback Loucheiz Purifoy was a coach at the camp.
So was former Pine Forest star Thomarius “Pooda” Walker, who finished his college career as a defensive lineman at Memphis last year. Former Escambia wide receiver Jacob Copeland, who played at Florida and Maryland, also made an appearance.
So did Emerson’s head coach at Pine Forest, Jason McDonald, and his defensive backs coach, Kadetrix Marcus. Even Jacksonville Jaguars defensive back Jarrian Jones, who played with Emerson at Mississippi State in 2019 and is one of his close friends, made the two-and-a-half-hour drive from Mississippi to be there on a sweltering Pensacola morning.
“He’s a great person,” Jones said. “He’s a people person. Anytime he meets someone, whether he knows you or not, he just wants the best for you. He wants to pour into you, he wants to pour greatness into you.”
For Emerson, he wanted the campers to know that they can put themselves on the path for what they want to do in life. It doesn’t just have to be football. For Emerson, the key is taking care of business in the classroom, staying strong in your faith and building strong relationships with your family. Those three things, along with surrounding yourself with like-minded people, will lead to success.
Emerson starred in a Pine Forest secondary with two other future NFL players. Devon Witherspoon is a three-time Pro Bowler and just won Super Bowl 60 with the Seattle Seahawks, while Dacarrion “Mac” McWilliams was drafted in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles.
But Emerson knew both before that, playing with McWilliams on little league teams and attending school with Witherspoon starting in elementary school.
“We just feed off each other energy, keep each other going and keep each other uplifted,” Emerson said. “Same thing we’ve been doing going back to our high school careers.”
Emerson is starting the next step of his NFL career this fall. He signed a one-year deal with the Saints in March after missing all of the 2025 season with a torn Achilles tendon. He tore it in training camp ahead of the final year of his rookie contract, starting what he called the hardest year of life.
But Emerson says he’s hungrier than ever and ready to get back to work. He’ll head to training camp at the end of the month for the team he cheered for growing up, and is expecting to see familiar faces at every game. The Saints home opener against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sept. 27, which will also be his 26th birthday.
“It’s a surreal moment,” Emerson said. “I’m thankful for it. I grew up watching Drew Brees, Tracy Porter, Michael Thomas, Marques Colston, all these guys and now I’m in a Saints uniform. It’s a blessing.”
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Saints CB Martin Emerson returns for annual youth football camp
