Two ex-Patriots get set to do some camping

Heath Evans spent three-plus seasons with the Patriots. (AP)

Two ex-Patriots we’ve talked to over the last couple of days have big events on the horizon.

First, Heath Evans, who was in New England from 2005 until 2008, will be holding his sixth annual 7-on-7 tournament on June 18 at King’s Academy in West Palm Beach, Florida. (If you haven’t done so already, check out our story on Heath from a couple of days ago here.) If you’re in the area, it’s a chance to see some of the top high school football talent Florida has to offer — as well as Patriots defensive lineman Vince Wilfork, who is scheduled to attend. (For more information, check out Evans’ web site.)

“This thing has just gotten bigger and bigger,” Evans said. “This year, we’re going to have over 50-plus Division 1 signees take part in this year’s camp. We’ve got seven state championship teams from the year before signed up. It’s a special, special, special event. It’s a character-building day, along with serving as a 7-on-7 tournament. We get a lot of speakers in who talk about what it takes to be men of character and faith and integrity to help them reach their goals.”

A little closer to home, Ellis Hobbs, who was also in New England from 2005 through 2008, talked to us Tuesday about a bunch of different topics, including the fact that he’s in the final stages of putting together the Ellis Hobbs Youth Football Camp and Life Skills, which will be held in West Warwick, R.I., from July 18-22 for kids between the ages of 6-18. (For more on that camp, click here.)

“There’s a lot of kids out there who are lost, kids with single parents and from broken homes who have a lot of talent but can’t make their way in the world because they might not have the social skills necessary to survive in the real world,” said Hobbs. “My mission is to show people — and kids especially — that sports and life go hand in hand.

“Everybody isn’t going to make it in the NFL, but if you take the same skills and ability you have learned in the sports world and apply them to the real world, then you can make it — things like working hard, being part of a team, finding that angle and giving good effort, those things will make you a success in the real world. I want to show them there’s another way of going at this thing — other than acting like a plumb fool — just to get some acknowledgement.”