By SCOTT PETRAK

Staff Writer

BEDFORD — The mob of linebackers was moving downfield to start another drill, but one inquisitive high schooler wasn’t satisfied with his work. He pulled the 6-foot-4, 245-pound instructor aside and received a one-on-one tutorial on pass-coverage technique.

In return, Matt Wilhelm got a glimpse of his future.

Wilhelm was at Bedford High on Saturday morning to help San Diego Chargers teammate Chris Chambers with his football camp. Wilhelm led the linebacker drills, then gave a quick speech to all the campers before lunch.

“I have a lot of pride in the state of Ohio,” Wilhelm told them. “Ohio’s a football state.”

Twenty years from now, Wilhelm could be spending all his days like this.

“If God blesses me to play this game long enough and I can make enough money, I would love to coach on a high school level,” he said, “whether it be just helping or being the head coach somewhere.

“Impacting lives, that’s why guys have camps like this. For (NFL players from Northeast Ohio) to come out and say, ‘We sat in your seat and were here and look where we’ve gone now.’ That’s the impact I want to make post-football.”

From Elyria Catholic High to Ohio State to the Chargers, Wilhelm, 27, has taken the good and the bad from his coaches to form his vision of the perfect mentor.

“There are coaches you’ve hated throughout the years and there are coaches you took to and almost feel like they’re your friend,” he said. “That’s the relationship you develop as a coach and a player and it’s fun.

“Making kids feel better about themselves, that’s exciting for me.”

Wilhelm singled out Mark Snyder and Jim Tressel at Ohio State and Ron Rivera, who joined the Chargers as inside linebackers coach last year after being defensive coordinator for the NFC champion Bears.

“He’s coached and played in a Super Bowl, so he’s stood at the top,” Wilhelm said. “The impact he has, you kind of hang on every word in the meeting room with him.”

Wilhelm referenced Rivera to the campers and borrowed a couple of his drills. During one to work on quickness, Wilhelm stood in the middle of a square of cones and slapped five with each camper as he shuffled his way around the perimeter.

When the kids weren’t grasping the point, Wilhelm would work up a sweat showing them how it’s done. Although he spent a lot of time on fundamentals, his primary message was a little deeper.

“This game is what you put into it,” he said. “If you’re dedicated and put as much as you can into it — and still be a human being and have a personal life — it will reward you in one way or another.

“Not everyone’s going to get a full scholarship and maybe one kid out here might make it to the NFL. It’s the relationships you build with coaches and players that make you a better person. You build a lifetime friend that played a position next to you and you’re the best man in his wedding. Things like that, you can carry on.”

Wilhelm will be in town for a few more weeks before heading back to San Diego for training camp. He’s been showing off his new son, Mason, and is the chairman for the Woody Hayes Celebrity Golf Classic near Columbus that raises money for pediatric cancer research.

He said the offseason has gone well for himself and the Chargers, as they enter 2008 with huge expectations. San Diego is one of the favorites in the AFC after losing to New England in the conference championship game, and Wilhelm wants to build on his first season as a starter.

“We’re primed and ready for a great season,” he said. “Settling for less than a Super Bowl is just not on our mind.”

Personally, Wilhelm wants to become an every-down player, as opposed to being replaced in certain passing situations. He still managed 144 tackles (second on the team), three interceptions, a sack and a fumble recovery last year.

“I worked extremely hard in the offseason to be physically ready and mentally ready to take on that challenge, because it is a challenge to not come off the field,” he said. “There are only a handful of guys in the league who actually do that.

“I’m priming myself for that.”

It would be another useful experience for when he trades in his helmet for a whistle.

Petrak may be reached at spetrak@chroniclet.com or 440-329-7136.