Former Viking Rob Tate brings community football camp to Hibbing

The Minnesota Vikings entered the house of Hibbing Friday. Former cornerback Rob Tate hosted a football camp for over 150 kids from third to 12th grade at Lincoln School Fields.

He was joined in instruction by local coaches from Hibbing, Ely, Mesabi East, and elsewhere from the Iron Range.

"It was really nice doing the individual drills and watch them listen to the coaches that were brought in," Hibbing football coach Shaun Howard said. "I think that it can just grow from here. We can keep going with this and make it bigger and bigger and get interest in football going up here again."

"I would like to mentor and be a positive role model for certain kids, and certain individuals. If we can come out here and give back to people that probably never even saw somebody that played in the professionals before, it just feels good to me," Tate shared.

Participants came from as far as St. Cloud to attend.

This was Tate’s first camp in Hibbing, but he plans to bring it back next year. He also runs camps for the communities of his other former teams, the Arizona Cardinals and Baltimore Ravens.

The now 48-year-old played for the Vikings from 1997 to 2001.