The former pastor of Glory Harvester Church died in February of an apparent heart attack during a Pastors vs. Politicians charity basketball game at Excel Christian Academy.
Even with his passing more than four months ago, it was hard not to acknowledge the late Fluellen's presence at Cartersville High's Weinman Stadium Saturday.
"We did this for the city of Cartersville," Andre Fluellen said at the end of camp, channeling his father's sense of community. "He was a great man of Cartersville. A lot of this was done through and for him."
A nearly half-minute moment of silence was observed in honor of Charles Fluellen Sr., who had a hand in adding the latter name to the title of this year's football camp.
While indications suggested Brown was headed toward committing for the second annual football camp, the former Bartow County Transit Department director secured the official confirmation.
"When my husband approached Ronnie about doing the football camp, he met with him in Philadelphia during the season last year. They had dinner and talked about the possibility of Ronnie teaming up with Andre to do this camp this year. Ronnie was all in," Judith Fluellen said in an interview with The Daily Tribune News on Friday, June 22.
Following the free camp, Brown described the Fluellens -- including another son, Charles Jr. -- as a family of great character for their involvement in the community and their desire to give back -- a testament to the patriarch of the family.
GETTING THE WORD OUT: With the NFL season in such flux last summer, it was hard for players to commit to much without knowing the particulars regarding if or when the lockout would cease.
Detroit Lions defensive tackle Andre Fluellen managed to put together a free football camp on short notice, but this year allowed for more timing for the Andre Fluellen-Ronnie Brown Football Camp, which was sponsored by USA Football and Fluellen's Dynasty Sports & Entertainment company.
"The one thing we wanted, we just wanted to get the word out a little more, get some more kids, and we did. So, [we had] ... more kids this year, and that was the main thing," said Fluellen, who saw the number of campers rise from about 100 to 150. "We wanted to keep the format pretty similar as it was 'cause it was pretty successful last year, so we didn't want to mess things up too much."
With that said, there may be a potential change to the camp to encourage more female participation.
"I think in the future we want to ... probably incorporate some cheerleading so we can get some more young girls ... so it's just not so much boy-based. There were a couple of girls out there, but cheerleading would really help you spread it out a little bit," said Fluellen, who picked up the idea while at a camp with a former Florida State University and Detroit Lion teammate. "What I've seen before, [at] a camp I went to in Tallahassee with Ernie Sims, he actually had the Jacksonville Jaguars cheerleaders come out and they helped coach [the camp]. If I could get the [Atlanta] Falcons cheerleaders to come out and coach, that would be great."
Another great possibility could occur if Fluellen can convince two of his current teammates -- former University of Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford and former Georgia Tech wide receiver Calvin Johnson -- to attend the 2013 camp.
It won't be so easy getting the two players to make the trip to Cartersville -- though the Detroit Lion defensive lineman is hopeful.
"Stafford, he's so busy as it is," Fluellen acknowledged. "The type of person he is, he would love to come, but he's always so busy. ... He's in Georgia a lot, so hopefully I'll be able to get him or Calvin to even come.
"That'd be great," he continued. "Hopefully we can get just more variety of players [at the camp]."
TOGETHER AGAIN: Saturday's Andre Fluellen-Ronnie Brown Football Camp reunited members of the 2004 Auburn Tigers football team that went undefeated, punctuating a 13-0 record with a 16-13 win over Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 3, 2005.
Running back tandem Ronnie Brown and Carnell "Cadillac" Williams and quarterback Jason Campbell led a well-stocked offense, while cornerback Carlos Rogers helped factor into a defense that held opponents to an average of slightly more than 11 points per game. Each of the aforementioned players present for the camp at Cartersville High's Weinman Stadium was drafted in the first round of the 2005 NFL Draft, including Brown who went the highest of the four at the No. 2 spot in the draft.
"The friendship goes beyond football. It's always good when you have a chance to come back and be with 'em all, especially getting in front of these kids," said Williams, a free agent running back, after Saturday's camp. "It's always good to be around these guys. We played at Auburn together for four years ... I mean, we sweat a lot, shed tears a lot, bled together ... so we have a lot of memories and [we] go back a long way -- not only on the field but off the field, too."
Of the four teams to run the table in the Southeastern Conference in the last 20 years -- the 1992 and 2009 Alabama, and the 1998 Tennessee national title teams are the others -- only Auburn was denied the national championship, with the University of Southern California and Oklahoma playing for that season's title. USC bombarded the Sooners, 55-19, but vacated the title win years later after it was decided by the NCAA that running back Reggie Bush should have been ineligible and not allowed to play for the 2004 USC team.
MASTER OF THE PLAYBOOK: After a season-ending injury that precipitated a mid-season trade by the Oakland Raiders for quarterback Carson Palmer, Jason Campbell was forced to search for a new home this offseason -- meaning the former Auburn University quarterback and eighth-year pro is in the midst of learning a ninth offensive playbook in 12 years of football -- which includes a string of four offensive coordinators in college.
"Everyone's road in pro sports is different. My road has been a little bit different because of [having to] learning so many different systems, but I try to use it as something to help me in life as well as on the field because you go through change in life and you go through change in your career. So, it helps me out in the long run," said Campbell, who signed with the Chicago Bears during the offseason after spending his first five years in the league with the Washington Redskins and the last two with the Oakland Raiders.
Campbell would like to be a starter again some day but knows there is a show-and-prove factor with league executives and coaches after being knocked out with an injury Oct. 16, 2011, in a game against the Cleveland Browns.
"I've been starting the last seven years and ... would like to still be playing and starting. You know, I broke my collarbone so people want to see how that's gonna work out and how that's gonna react. Right now, Chicago gave me an opportunity to come there and I [will] just go out there and participate and just work my way back up," said Campbell, who helped lead the Raiders to a 4-2 mark in games he started last season, adding 1,170 yards and six touchdowns in those games.
"Definitely one day I would like to be back as a starter and doing what I was doing. It's tough to lose your job to injury, but I understand that's the [nature of] pro sports and that's business," he continued. "I'm 100 percent [healthy] now. I'm going to Chicago. I have a chance to go up there and play with a really good football team and just try to get myself back going again. I hit a bump in the road and [I] just [have to] see where it takes me."
-- The Daily Tribune News' David Royal contributed to this article.