Top Recruits in Michigan Rally Together to Help Neighbors in Flint Water Crisis

Credit: David Braden
Top Michigan recruits such 4-star OL JaRaymond Hall (left, in shorts) and 2018 OL Marquan McCall (far right, with water in hand) were among a group of athletes who helped deliver water to residents in Flint.

Three of the state of Michigan's top rising young football prospects are among the state's citizens working to lend residents in Flint a helping hand as the city deals with a crisis that has ruined its water system.

As detailed by Vox's Libby Nelson ^[1], Flint's water system became contaminated with lead after the city stopped buying its drinking water from Detroit to cut costs.

After watching the situation unfold into a national storyline, Daryl Graham—who trains athletes through his Developing Great Athletes foundation—partnered up with a pair of childhood friends in David Woods and Aaron Higginbotham to help set up a drive to transport bottled water to Flint on a biweekly basis.

Included in that group were 2017 4-star offensive lineman and current Michigan commit JaRaymond Hall ^[2], 2017 3-star linebacker Antjuan Simmons ^[3] and 2018 offensive lineman Marquan McCall ^[4].

In flint pic.twitter.com/hSfTncJhiX ^[5]
— HOLLYWOOD-HALL ™ (@hall_american) February 14, 2016 ^[6]

"We saw a lot of people giving water to Flint, but we felt like time is everything," Graham told Bleacher Report. "We can send water, but we need to get down there and see what is really going on. We wanted to take our kids and families, and it was a life-changing event. Because you see the news on TV, but when you see the faces affected by what's going on there, you have a whole different outlook. When you get there, it's almost like you are not even in America."

Graham and his partners were able to pool their resources within the community to compile and pass out more than 3,000 cases of water in Flint—which is roughly an hour's drive north of Detroit—on their first trip.

For Hall, what he saw on the trip offered him some perspective on what the residents in Flint are going through.

"They have it really hard in Flint," Hall said of the experience. "It felt good to go out there and give back since their water is messed up. You can't take water for granted. Seeing what those people are going through on a daily basis, it is hard to watch. It made me sit back and look and really appreciate what we have."

Credit: David Braden

Simmons noted he has friends who live in Flint who told him about how bad things were.

Hearing their struggles made him want to do something to help them out.

"The water comes out like a light-brown or tan color," Simmons said. "It's not safe to drink. It really made me appreciate everything that I have and everything I've been blessed with. The things my parents do for me, it makes you think about that stuff. We just want to give to them as much as we can. That's what they deserve. They deserve to have clean water."

McCall said the things he saw in Flint will stick with him for the rest of his life. Furthermore, it has fostered a desire to continue to give back to the community in the future.

"I was happy to help because it's a big problem for those guys to have. I will do anything to help give back, because I know they would do the same thing for me." McCall said. "It was heartbreaking seeing all these kids not having water. I was shocked because I've never seen anything like that before. I wouldn't want to live like that. It was nerve-wracking to see people going through it every day."

Giving out water to flint #DGA ^[7] #EnjoyDetroit ^[8] 💯
— Robert Daniel Jr. (@WatchChannel_2) January 31, 2016 ^[9]

Graham noted that he and his organization are far from reaching their goals in helping the people in Flint.

That's because citizens are in constant need of clean water for many tasks considered routine in the lives of most Americans.

"[Flint residents] are going to the fire department and churches, and they are only passing out one case per family," Graham said. "Those families with more than four people, they need more than one case to bathe, drink and cook your food with."

With that in mind, Graham said his group's goal is to hand out six cases of water each to 2,000 families in Flint every two weeks until the crisis is resolved.

After video of the group's trip to Flint was posted, Graham noted that coaches from Miami (Ohio), Notre Dame, Syracuse and Tennessee have reached out to him—and all are in the process of offering to help send water to help his contingent meet that goal.

The situation in Flint has also provided Graham an important teaching tool for his athletes.

With the platform that comes with being heavily recruited athletes is an opportunity to give back to those who have helped them get there and to be among the first to support a community in times of crisis.

"Now that I've seen this situation, I'm always going to want to step up and help next time something happens in the community," McCall said. "We are just trying to show that we appreciate the people who helped us out. Now that we are doing good, it's only right that we help out when we get the chance."

Sanjay Kirpalani is a National Recruiting Analyst for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes obtained firsthand and all recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports.^[12]

Follow @SanjayKirpalani ^[13]