Eric Meng roared, "Ready! Ready!", and three dozen youth sitting in a semi-circle at midfield of TCO Stadium roared back – "Ready! Ready!" – and clapped twice, executing their first of many assignments.

Vikings rookie offensive tackle Walter Rouse slapped his hands on the turf, raised them in the air and shouted encouragement to boys and girls taking turns simulating a defensive stop on tackling dummies.

Youth ages 6-18 and college students part of Camp Kesem's University of Minnesota chapter gleefully carried the football, making left- and right-foot cuts before sprinting past Pro Bowl fullback C.J. Ham.

Veteran offensive lineman Dalton Risner assisted, playfully trying to knock the ball loose when the young people turned their hips and hustled to each cone. When they arrived at Ham, who was wielding a blocking shield, they picked a side to sneak by and proceeded to celebrate in the southeast end zone.

While the hardship on scene was hard to notice, each person on the turf was linked to a fight against cancer.

"This hits close to home," Ham said.

On the first late afternoon of October, with chilled air swirling and autumn colors proliferating, six Vikings players felt how most kids feel when they're watching television screens on Sundays: inspired.

"I'm more in awe of them," noted Ham, who lost his mother Tina to Stage 4 pancreatic cancer in 2021. "There's a young boy out here who I know, who had battled brain cancer, and to see where he was about a year ago and to see where he is now is truly, truly amazing. … The things he had to battle every single day just to get to where he is now just shows me that I can do anything, and he's a living testimony of that."

Ham often wears a wristband in support of his friend Parker Collins, who has a long vertical scar on the back of his head. Collins had multiple Germinoma brain tumors. At TCO Stadium, Collins bolted from one drill to the next, laughed with kids in lines, did a goofy touchdown dance and was happy to see Ham.

Asked how he felt when his NFL companion gave a hug and high-five, Collins replied, "Excited."

"It means a lot," he added, mouth agape and eyes glinting as he succinctly described their relationship.

Five words said everything. It's a bond born out of Ham's generosity.

The Vikings captain learned about the fight Collins was enduring through 2022 and 2023 and tried to surprise him with a couple gifts, including a football. But Collins wasn't home, and Ham wasn't comfortable leaving the ball on the doorstep, so he set up another visit and was able to sit down with the teen and talk.

The universe has kept them connected.

"My boxing coach is actually his wrestling coach, and I ran into him at Target with his family – and then he kept getting better – and he's actually part of our youth group at our church, too," Ham said, amazed.

"It's just been cool to see his journey," Ham added. "From that moment when I first met him, things were really fresh – he had just got done with surgery – now he's out here running around, it's just crazy."

It's a blessing how a devastating illness introduces and enables people to grow each other's perspectives.

"They just have these big smiles, and they think it's so cool to be around us Vikings players. They have questions and they're all Griddy-ing because I'm sure they love Justin Jefferson; I mean, every other jersey out here is No. 18. The interactions are amazing," Risner said. "And it humbles me, man, because sometimes you lose sight of what an actual battle is and you get around these kids, and these parents, and you're like, 'Man, that's a real battle, that's a real fight' – whenever you're fighting for your life."

The enthusiasm from Ham, Risner and Vikings teammates Blake Brandel, Jonathan Bullard, Nick Muse and Rouse was reciprocated by a handful of coaches passionate about football and service.

Rebecca Main has a diverse background: physical education teacher, strength & conditioning coach, offensive lineman for the Minnesota Vixen and "football movement" station leader at TCO Stadium.

"Moms and dads don't get to play catch with their kids like they used to," Main said.

It's one reason she and Meng, who serves as the Vixen's defensive coordinator, are so involved.

"I think I'm giving back [to] them," Ham said, "but they're actually giving so much more to me."

In his eighth NFL season, Ham looks to October on the calendar just like he anticipates game days.

"October is a special month for my family. It's a month we get to remember my mother, celebrate my mother, and celebrate all the cancer survivors and the people out there who have been affected by the horrible disease," Ham said. "I don't wish it upon anybody, but these people deserve to be spotlighted."

That's why the NFL's Crucial Catch clinic, which is part of the league's early cancer detection and risk reduction initiative, is important. It's a safe space for young people who have been impacted personally by cancer or know someone currently in a fight for their life or was subjected to cancer previously. It brings strong individuals together and strengthens their morale by showing them they're not alone.

Ham said the event is a reminder life is too short; a reminder to enjoy the moments every single day.

It was one of the first community gatherings Risner attended when he initially signed with Minnesota in September 2023. He also actively participated in Crucial Catch events during his four seasons in Denver.

"It's important to me," said Risner, sharing his cancer story. "I've had family members that have fought with cancer. I've had friends, too. I have my own nonprofit (the RisnerUp foundation) that works closely with kids who have battled cancer. I just got off the phone with a little kid that had ALL (acute lymphoblastic) leukemia."

That boy made it into remission and was able to storm out of the tunnel with Risner when he was an All-American at Kansas State. These aren't surface-level bonds, or temporary. They're life-changing.

"You don't know the walk that every single person has been on out here or the journey they've been on, but you know that there's probably a reason that they're here, whether they're a sibling or they've been affected directly," Risner said. "If I can show up, if I can put a smile on these people's faces [and] bring joy to their hearts for the battles I can only imagine that they've been through … that's enough for me."

Ham considers Collins, again. It's difficult not to, spectating a field full of courage.

"One thing I've noticed," Ham said, "he's always had that same smile on his face, and man, that says enough to the person that he is and his resiliency and his type of attitude towards everything in life."

After completing a series of drills, the stars returned to a semi-circle at midfield to lob questions at Vikings players. Kids eagerly shot their hands up to get called on, minds racing from innocent to serious:

What's your favorite food? Are you allowed to play Fantasy Football? Do you know anyone with cancer?

They all did.