Thursday night, high school football teams around the state kicked off their 2026 season. For some kids, it’s the last “opening week” of football they’ll ever play at an organized level.
Several hours before football kicked off in the state of Michigan, Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell delivered an awesome message to the high school kids out there ready to strap their helmets on.
“Make the most of it,” Campbell said. “Because you’re not guaranteed to be able to get another chance to play and be with
those guys that you grew up with and enjoy the game at that level and the wins and the sacrifice and the hard work and the blood and the sweat and the tears, It’s a special time, enjoy it.”
Campbell is obviously one of the lucky ones to make a career out of football, both as a player and a coach. But despite playing for 10 seasons, participating in a Super Bowl, coaching for nearly another two decades, and being a part of endless classic NFL games, he still remembers both the sting and the wonder of his last game in high school—a loss, as he’s quick to point out.
“We lost, and it wasn’t good. Yeah, we weren’t going to the playoffs, I remember that,” Campbell said. “But I remember being with that group of guys that I knew and I grew up with and I was with for a long time. And it is, you don’t forget those, you just don’t. You just don’t forget and it is a special time. And you’re going to look back and wish, ‘Man, I wish I could do that one more time. I wish I could go back and play that game one more time or play with those guys one more time.’”
While Campbell pleaded to high school seniors appreciate the moment and give it all you’ve got so you don’t have any regrets, he also had a message for the underclassmen.
“If you’re a young guy, man, I’m a freshman, I’m a sophomore, you owe it to the seniors because this may be the last time that—you get one more shot, they don’t,” Campbell said. “So, give them everything you have got and make it a special year for them because next year is your year and you’re going to want those young guys to help you. So, man, enjoy it. It doesn’t last and you’ll remember it the rest of your life.”
It’s one thing to read Campbell’s words. It’s another to experience them. So do yourself a favor and watch his answer to the question below, and share it with any high school football player you know.
