Two former Apopka football standouts returned home Saturday to inspire the next generation, as Division I athletes Kevin Roberts and Kingston Shaw headlined a community giveback event benefiting Apopka Pop Warner. 

Hosted by The Influencer Counsel, the event was held at Zaxbys in Apopka and gave young football and cheerleading athletes the opportunity to meet the former local stars, collect autographs and photos, and hear firsthand how their journeys from Apopka led to college football. The organization also presented a $1,500 donation to Apopka Pop Warner. 

For Roberts, returning to inspire the next generation was an easy decision. 

“It’s just giving back,” Roberts said. “When I was growing up, I loved when somebody gave back to me. So it’s a big thing just to inspire, really. I just love giving back, love making people happy and just doing all I can for the community.” 

Roberts knows the path from Apopka Pop Warner to Division I football better than most. 

A 2024 Apopka High School graduate, Roberts helped lead the Blue Darters to appearances in two state championship games before beginning his collegiate career at the University of West Florida. During the 2025 season, the defensive lineman emerged as one of the top defenders in the Gulf South Conference, earning first-team All-GSC honors after recording 45 tackles, 18 tackles for loss, nine sacks and three forced fumbles. 

His breakout campaign led to a transfer this offseason to James Madison University, where he will join the defending Sun Belt Conference champions. 

Despite reaching the Division I level, Roberts credits the lessons learned in Apopka for preparing him to succeed. 

“It was the hard work we put in,” Roberts said. “The coaches instilled that discipline from the get-go, from the start. We just grew up a certain way, and we just practiced a certain way. We loved each other, and it’s more than just playing football. It’s becoming more of a young man.” 

He also pointed to the mentors who helped shape him as he adjusted to college football. 

“I would say definitely the leaders in our room, Nikai Martinez and Travion Barnes,” Roberts said. “I didn’t get to play with Jalen Carter or anything, but just seeing him and the success he had just inspired me to be better and better each day.” 

Shaw’s football journey began on the same Pop Warner fields. 

After growing up in the Apopka program, Shaw starred at Apopka High before transferring to The First Academy for his senior season. As a junior with the Blue Darters, he totaled 42 tackles, 11 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. He also played on Apopka Pop Warner’s 2020 national championship team. 

Now beginning his freshman season at the University of Illinois, Shaw is preparing to compete in the Big Ten, one of college football’s premier conferences. 

Still, returning to where it all started remains one of the most meaningful parts of his offseason. 

“It just means so much to me from the standpoint of this is where it all started,” Shaw said. “This is what got me to the position where I am today. Just thinking about all those long days, those practices as I was growing up. The culture here is what built me to be the person I am today. I truly wouldn’t be here without that. 

“To pour back into these kids that were in the same position that I was in really means a lot, because when I was looking up at guys, that gave me a vision for the future. So to be that guy for them really means a lot to me.” 

Shaw said one lesson from Apopka has stayed with him every step of the way. 

“I want to say grit,” he said. “That’s one thing that was the biggest takeaway for me. Football is a gritty sport, and the amount of grit you learn there, the amount of toughness. If you look at any Apopka football player — Trey Hendrickson, Jalen Carter, Warren Sapp — there’s just something about them, and it’s grit. I feel like that’s instilled from you not only from a young age through the Pop Warner system, but at the high school. It really pushes you to be great at the next level.” 

The event was organized by The Influencer Counsel, whose mission centers on connecting athletes with opportunities to positively impact their communities. 

Executive Director Dan LaForest, a 1988 Apopka High School graduate and former Blue Darter quarterback, said Roberts and Shaw were ideal representatives for the event. 

“The whole thing is about these college athletes giving back to their community,” LaForest said. “Kevin Roberts and King Shaw are that type of guy. They’re high-character individuals that have that opportunity to play at the college level, and it’s great for the Apopka Pop Warner young people to see these guys that actually grew up here. It’s a motivational thing because everybody has a dream and very few actually get to realize it. Kevin and Kingston have realized their dream of playing college football.”