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http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_15445318

Tyler Polumbus gathered the group of aspiring football players in close for an important message Monday morning.

If you want to play football, and particularly if you want to play on the offensive line, you've got to be tough, Polumbus — the third-year offensive tackle for the Broncos — told the campers.

"Nobody gets any glory in this group, and that's how we like it," Polumbus said. "We are the toughest guys on the whole team."

Polumbus then had the kids break their huddle with a cheer of "Up Front."

While most NFL players are far away from the game of football during the first week of July, Polumbus was wearing an orange Broncos hat as he led his inaugural Tyler Polumbus Football Camp at Village Greens Park in Greenwood Village.

Polumbus grew up nearby and attended Cherry Creek High School, both located just across the street.

"I'm so blessed to be playing here in my hometown, and our facility is just five minutes away from here," Polumbus said. "I grew up on these fields, and I wanted to be able to give back."

Plenty of NFL players, including Broncos, host or participate in youth camps in their offseason break. But it is hard to imagine another camp being as homegrown as Polumbus'. His wife, Liz, ran the registration table and his father, Tad, joined in as a volunteer coach, while mom, Nancy, and sister, Lindsay, watched from the sidelines. Polumbus did much of the legwork for his camp, from sending e-mails to the local youth football leagues to recruiting participants and hand- delivering fliers to the physical education teacher at Belleview Elementary, where he once went to school.

Polumbus recruited a number of fellow former University of Colorado football players to serve as coaches, including former quarterback Joel Klatt and receiver Dusty Sprague. Polumbus is expecting several NFL players, including Broncos teammates Ryan Harris and Daniel Graham, to join the coaching ranks today. The camp concludes Wednesday.

"It's just awesome," Polumbus said. "And all these guys are here for the right reasons."

The local ties, both of Polumbus and the CU players, were a large part of the draw to the camp. Polumbus and Klatt, who delivered a speech to campers after the first session, made no secret this was a Colorado crew. Polumbus jokingly made a camper take off a Nebraska hat, and Klatt teased others for wearing Texas gear.

"Sometimes dreams can seem too far away, but for these kids it's not," Klatt said. "They can see Cherry Creek High School right there and see Tyler, who played there and now plays at Invesco."

Lindsay H. Jones: 303-954-1262 orljones@denverpost.com