Cohen said his younger brother was shot in Raleigh and is paralyzed from the waist down. For the 5-6, 180-pound NFL running back known as the “human joystick,” that’s a reality he could never imagine.

The youth, ranging from preschoolers to middle school age, were quiet for the first time all morning. They listened to Cohen tell a story he’d never revealed to anyone.

“You can do anything you want,” he told them, looking down at the child in the wheelchair. “You inspire me for just being here.”

The camp was supposed to be the other way around. Cohen said he began the free camp last year to give back and to inspire young kids that they can indeed do anything.

“Not everybody’s built the same,” he said. “Not everybody’s 6-2, 200. Not everybody’s going to get that Alabama offer or N.C. State, the big D-I schools. I wanted to show them it’s possible for them to become whatever, no matter what. And also, I just want to have fun, to let people have fun and get away from problems in life.”

For all intents and purposes, Cohen is the same guy who left N.C. A&T for the NFL two years ago. But he’s not really the same guy.