NFL Player Praises Prince William’s Football Throwing Arm: ‘He Could Definitely Be a Quarterback One Day’ (Exclusive)

The verdict’s in, and it seems Prince William has a hidden talent — he has a golden arm!

The Prince of Wales, 42, attended an engagement with the NFL Foundation UK on Tuesday, Oct. 15, and across the board, the royal’s throwing ability was praised by those in attendance.

Of his throwing arm, Louis Rees-Zammit, a former Welsh rugby player who is now a wide receiver for the Jacksonville Jaguars NFL franchise, tells PEOPLE that “It was great. It was a lot better than mine.”

“Thankfully in my position, I just have to run and catch,” Rees-Zammit adds. “He could definitely be a quarterback one day!”

William, a passionate sports fan and the president of the Welsh Rugby Union, was interested in Rees-Zammit’s transition from one sport to another.

“He was intrigued about the transition I’m doing and the sport itself,” he said of the future king. “He asked me what I could bring from rugby into the NFL, like my speed.”

Of William’s own talent playing football — which he exhibited while playing flag football at the event — “He definitely wants to learn,” Rees-Zammit says. “That’s why he’s come out here to support these kids who want to learn flag football. It’s a growing sport in the U.K., [and] even myself, I’m always learning new things.”

“He came out here to try to pick up a few things, and one of them — he could throw the ball,” he adds.

Phoebe Schecter, GB Women’s Flag Football team captain, also commented on William’s hidden talent. “He’s got such a strong arm, I couldn’t believe it,” she tells PEOPLE. “He said he’s played when he was younger, on the beach with friends and family.”

She adds, “He was in a situation that he probably wasn’t very comfortable in, and he took command. He did a handoff at one point and threw some incredible balls downfield.”

Of introducing kids Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis to the sport of American football — flag football specifically — Schecter says, “He’s going to try and teach his kids now,” she tells PEOPLE. “We got him an American football to bring home. And we talked a lot about multi-sports and how good that is. He was a multi-sport athlete growing up, but said he wasn’t very good.”

She adds of the trio he shares with wife Kate Middleton, 42, “I think he’ll be playing with his kids.”

Prince William already has experience playing flag football with kids, as he played flag football at the royal engagement with kids from across the U.K. Kavay, 14, who plays flag football for two teams in south London, tells PEOPLE of William, “He can throw very, very well. I told him how you have to hold the ball. He picked it up well.”

Football has given Kavay a community, he says. “It’s fun, and everyone becomes one family, and you make a lot of new friends.”

The young people really took to the Prince of Wales, Schecter says. “When we surprised them and said he was coming, they were in shock, in disbelief,” she said. “I wish I’d had a camera. And then, when he engaged with them, he threw some footballs with the young girls. He was terrific with them. High fives all around, great energy, and on the field they were in complete shock he was playing the sport with them. One little boy came to hand him the ball and just stared at him in admiration!”

“That’s power that he has, but he genuinely makes people feel so comfortable,” Schecter adds.

Of William’s interaction with the kids at the event, Rees-Zammit says, “He’s very inspiring. You can see it on all the kids’ faces. It just gives them a bit of motivation to try a bit harder in drills and in the little matches they’re playing.”

He adds, “It’s great for him to come out and support these kids playing in flag football. It’s going to be in the next Olympics. It’s getting bigger and bigger around the world.”

The NFL Foundation UK is an organization focused on tackling challenges faced by young people in underserved communities across the country. The Foundation, which is celebrating its three-year anniversary, is the first international charitable arm of the National Football League (NFL) and targets areas of the U.K. with high levels of deprivation and low levels of physical activity.

The event Tuesday highlighted how the NFL Foundation UK is using flag football to help change lives, according to Prince William’s office at Kensington Palace. NFL Flag — a fast-paced, inclusive and non-contact American football format — is a rapidly growing sport in the U.K., and will even make its debut in the Olympics in 2028, when the games head to Los Angeles.

The league has been playing regular season games in London since 2007, and the sport of American football continues to grow in popularity. Games have been played at both the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Wembley Stadium. The NFL Foundation UK launched in 2021 as part of the NFL’s international charitable endeavors, beginning with efforts in London and expanding to Manchester, Birmingham and Leeds through a partnership with the San Francisco 49ers and funding from Sport England.

The Foundation delivers flag football training and equipment to help young people from the ages of 12 to 20 “access positive pathways, using the power of sport to reach communities to help achieve positive outcomes for young people focused on education, employment, building inclusive communities and improving physical and mental wellbeing,” Kensington Palace said in a statement.

“He was asking about the intricacies of the game, really trying to understand it,” says Jason Bell, who played cornerback in the NFL for the Dallas Cowboys, Houston Texans and New York Giants. “He obviously loves his sport, so he’s trying to dig into the minutiae of the game.”

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Former Atlanta Falcons and New York Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora says that Prince William’s support is important as the sport of football continues to grow in the U.K.

“You’re talking about the future King of England. Somebody like that giving his stamp of approval on a game that’s relatively growing here, I think is going to make the game grow a lot faster than it already has been,” he says. “It’s not a traditional sport, but this is a traditional institution when you talk about the King of England, so he’s now letting it be known that American football is here to stay.”