For former Minden High star and current Kansas City Chiefs cornerback L’Jarius Sneed, it’s been quite an off season.
About three weeks after Sneed helped the Chiefs defeat the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35 in Super Bowl on Feb. 12, he was honored with a parade in Minden.
Just a few weeks ago, he received his Super Bowl ring in a private ceremony in Kansas City.
Late last month, he was one of more than a dozen NFL players from Northwest Louisiana who took part in the 318 Takeover Youth Football Canp in Shreveport.
Some 600 youngsters participated in the free camp for two hours on a sweltering evening at Independence Stadium.
Former North Webster star Devin White of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was also on hand. Former NFL running back Charcandrick West, a Springhill High product, was also among the list of guess instructors.
Sneed and the rest of the pros, including Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, went from group to group interacting with the campers and offering encouragement.
There were plenty of breaks for water and energy drinks.
“It means a lot,” said the soft-spoken Sneed. ‘Coming from where we came me from and giving back to the kids.”
Sneed said the ring ceremony was “crazy’ and emotional.
“But it was a celebration too though,” he said.
In addition to celebrating the championship, Sneed said he has been just “trying to get healthy, trying to get my body back right.”
Sneed suffered a hip injury in the Chiefs’ victory over Denver in the AFC Divisional playoffs on Jan. 1.
But he played in the NFC Championship Game against Jacksonville and had nine tackles. He had seven tackles in the Super Bowl.
Sneed participated in the Chiefs’ Organized Team Activity in May in a limited way and watched from the sideline in the three-day mandatory minicamp because of knee swelling last month.
Sneed and the other Kansas City veterans are scheduled to report to camp July 22.