LORMAN &045; This sure has the potential to be a match made in heaven.

Steve McNair may have found a permanent home for his free one-day football camp for kids on the Alcorn State campus, and it’s only fitting since people there refer to the standout Tennessee Titans quarterback as if he was born and raised there and just completed his eligibility here recently.

The camp will return July 8 on the Lorman campus, only this time the registration is open to all and it may be even better than last summer.

&uot;I think we’ve been doing (camps) for about seven or eight years,&uot; said Don Weatherall, camp coordinator who works with McNair’s agent, Bus Cook. &uot;We just got done with a Nashville football camp, and that was 350 running. They just seem to get bigger and better. A lot of camps just try to get as many kids possible and squeeze as many dollars possible out of them.

&uot;Kids Steve is trying to help can’t afford $400. The camps Steve has done are extremely affordable. As long as kids keep coming out and having fun, I firmly expect Steve to do this well into his retirement.&uot;

McNair, along with his brother Fred and other coaches, will run the camp alone this summer while the quarterback’s Elite Fleet camp scheduled for the next day in Hattiesburg.

Last year’s free camp was open to 400 youngsters who were drawn from a pool of nearly 1,000 applicants, but the camp returns this summer to a campus more than welcoming its most famous football product.

&uot;They really were very pleased with the hospitality and the way they were received and the facilities,&uot; Alcorn athletic director Robert Raines said. &uot;They’ve got a lot of room to work. When you’re dealing with so much space as we have out here, they’re very excited about it. There was no limitation on what they wanted to do.&uot;

The camp will return after McNair moved it to Alcorn last summer when the previous site at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College became unavailable due to construction. His return last summer created excitement among Alcorn’s fan base since it was his first scheduled appearance at the school since he finished third in the Heisman Trophy balloting following the 1994 season.

&uot;We thought it went pretty good over there, so we’ll try it again,&uot; Weatherall said. &uot;Over on the coast, it had been a three-day, two-night overnight camp. We started with some of our other areas doing one-day clinics. The NFL really does try to promote their players to do this sort of thing.&uot;

McNair will take his Elite Fleet camp to Hattiesburg the next day where he’ll work the team camp he did at Alcorn over the three-day span last summer. That will be a team camp with proceeds benefiting the Steve McNair Foundation, an organization he started to help school-age children.

That camp will take 12-15 teams with 7-on-7 activities slated throughout the day. Teams will go against each other with the best players selected for an All-Star game and the two best teams playing for a camp championship.

Camp staff will film the two games and send the tapes to college coaches around the state.

&uot;Every little bit helps,&uot; Weatherall said.

Those interested in attending the free camp at Alcorn still have to mail in registration forms, and camp officials will take applications until June 30 to give everyone an idea of how many will attend.

McNair will again stress fundamentals of the game and speak on non-football topics such as the importance of staying in school and being responsible for your own actions. The camp is open to boys ages 9-17, and campers will receive lunch, a T-shirt, a goodie bag and an autographed photo of McNair.

Call (601) 877-6500 to register or go online at www.alcornsports.com to download a registration form.

&uot;We’re expecting between 400 and 600 participants,&uot; Raines said. &uot;They are prepared to handle up to about 600. Right now it’s at Alcorn, and we just hope this is where it will stay.&uot;