From OnlineAthens.com
June 15th, 2016 12:52 PM
EMERSON | A bleary-eyed Mike Bobo arrived on a red-eye flight from Colorado.
Georgia coach Kirby Smart and three assistant coaches had a much shorter trip by plane Wednesday morning to nearby Cartersville. Former Bulldogs defensive lineman Brandon Tolbert helped them beat rush hour by picking them up and driving them to the LakePoint Sports complex here Northwest of Atlanta.
The SEC didn’t want to jump into the world of satellite camp like these, but since an NCAA ban was reversed, Georgia and other conference schools aren’t missing out on recruiting opportunities like this, especially when schools from outside the region invade.
Bobo, entering his second season as Colorado State coach, understood why the SEC was against these camps away from campuses.
“Yeah, because they don’t have to go anywhere,” the former Georgia offensive coordinator said laughing. “If I was at Georgia or Florida, they can drive out to my school but it’s a chance for us to get out. We’ve got to recruit out of state. It’s a chance for us to get in other states and get Colorado State in front of them. You may get one guy, you may get two guys and then you start a trend of getting some guys from an area.”
Smart attended two satellite camps previously held by Cedar Grove and the Georgia Minority Coaches Association (Ohio State’s Urban Meyer and Arkansas’ Bret Bielema also attended). Smart’s schedule had him attending two satellite camps on Wednesday alone.
He spent about three hours at the LakePoint Football Showcase before walking off the field at 1:22 p.m, with a 2 p.m. start time at another camp to make.
He was heading to KIPP Atlanta Collegiate High School for a Georgia camp run by i-Dare-U.
First, while Smart signed some autographs, Georgia offensive coordinator Jim Chaney, defensive coordinator Mel Tucker and wide receivers coach James Coley stopped at a concession stand that served Chick-fil-A to get lunch.
More than 200 ninth through 12th graders paid $40 to take part at this camp put on by Cartersville High.
That’s where Trevor Lawrence, the five-star 2018 quarterback, plays.
Smart told the campers he was “honored” to be at the camp and challenged them to get better.
“Don’t worry about how high you are rated or your stars,” he told them. “Be an overachiever.”
Lawrence was the prized recruit at this camp where players went through individual and competitive drills and ran in front of coaches from 11 colleges ranging from other FBS schools like Georgia Tech and Iowa to FCS Tennessee-Chattanooga to Division II Albany State to NAIA Reinhardt.
“I think it’s a great opportunity for exposure for any kid that’s willing to come out and be seen by a lot of people here and receive instruction from these college coaches,” Cartersville coach Joey King said. “It also benefits the coaches because they’re auditioning the kids, some of the big-time prospects.”
Alabama’s Nick Saban was outspoken in his view that satellite camps that Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh have been the poster boy could be the “wild, wild West” with third-party influence.
“There is discomfort,” SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said earlier this month at the league’s spring meetings. “This is not the direction that we saw as appropriate for recruiting in Division I football. Our coaches are uniform in that perspective yet the culture has moved because of what’s occurred in recent years and the outcome of the board of directors’ vote.”
Smart was often more observer than active coach at the LakePoint camp. He walked around the fields to get a good look at the players. The assistants, particularly Coley who taught proper steps in one drill to the receivers, were more hands on with the campers.
Georgia has held its own various camps in Athens--youth, 7-on-7, lineman, kicking -from June 2 and finishing on Wednesday.
Bulldog assistant coaches and support staffers had fanned out the past couple of weeks at camps in state and in places like Birmingham and Nashville. Offensive line coach Sam Pittman was in Brunswick for a camp Wednesday.
Bobo spent Tuesday at a Colorado State satellite camp in Yuma, Col., 145 miles from the Fort Collins campus.
“This is a little different than Yuma,” Bobo said. “Yuma was more of a service to the community which was good for the kids.”
Bobo also did satellite camps in Texas and California.
He will join Smart and Georgia Southern at a camp Thursday in Buford, something Bobo said he and Smart were talking about for some time.
“There’s a lot of guys that we’re recruiting that are in this area and you get to chance to really go out and instruct and they get a chance to see us coach and see if this is a guy that I really want to play for,” Bobo said.
Bobo said he will offer recruits scholarship based off of what he sees in camp after watching film and talking to high school coaches.
“You can see him move, change direction and compete and take coaching,” Bobo said.
...READ MORE HERE...
June 15th, 2016 12:52 PM
EMERSON | A bleary-eyed Mike Bobo arrived on a red-eye flight from Colorado.
Georgia coach Kirby Smart and three assistant coaches had a much shorter trip by plane Wednesday morning to nearby Cartersville. Former Bulldogs defensive lineman Brandon Tolbert helped them beat rush hour by picking them up and driving them to the LakePoint Sports complex here Northwest of Atlanta.
The SEC didn’t want to jump into the world of satellite camp like these, but since an NCAA ban was reversed, Georgia and other conference schools aren’t missing out on recruiting opportunities like this, especially when schools from outside the region invade.
Bobo, entering his second season as Colorado State coach, understood why the SEC was against these camps away from campuses.
“Yeah, because they don’t have to go anywhere,” the former Georgia offensive coordinator said laughing. “If I was at Georgia or Florida, they can drive out to my school but it’s a chance for us to get out. We’ve got to recruit out of state. It’s a chance for us to get in other states and get Colorado State in front of them. You may get one guy, you may get two guys and then you start a trend of getting some guys from an area.”
Smart attended two satellite camps previously held by Cedar Grove and the Georgia Minority Coaches Association (Ohio State’s Urban Meyer and Arkansas’ Bret Bielema also attended). Smart’s schedule had him attending two satellite camps on Wednesday alone.
He spent about three hours at the LakePoint Football Showcase before walking off the field at 1:22 p.m, with a 2 p.m. start time at another camp to make.
He was heading to KIPP Atlanta Collegiate High School for a Georgia camp run by i-Dare-U.
First, while Smart signed some autographs, Georgia offensive coordinator Jim Chaney, defensive coordinator Mel Tucker and wide receivers coach James Coley stopped at a concession stand that served Chick-fil-A to get lunch.
More than 200 ninth through 12th graders paid $40 to take part at this camp put on by Cartersville High.
That’s where Trevor Lawrence, the five-star 2018 quarterback, plays.
Smart told the campers he was “honored” to be at the camp and challenged them to get better.
“Don’t worry about how high you are rated or your stars,” he told them. “Be an overachiever.”
Lawrence was the prized recruit at this camp where players went through individual and competitive drills and ran in front of coaches from 11 colleges ranging from other FBS schools like Georgia Tech and Iowa to FCS Tennessee-Chattanooga to Division II Albany State to NAIA Reinhardt.
“I think it’s a great opportunity for exposure for any kid that’s willing to come out and be seen by a lot of people here and receive instruction from these college coaches,” Cartersville coach Joey King said. “It also benefits the coaches because they’re auditioning the kids, some of the big-time prospects.”
Alabama’s Nick Saban was outspoken in his view that satellite camps that Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh have been the poster boy could be the “wild, wild West” with third-party influence.
“There is discomfort,” SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said earlier this month at the league’s spring meetings. “This is not the direction that we saw as appropriate for recruiting in Division I football. Our coaches are uniform in that perspective yet the culture has moved because of what’s occurred in recent years and the outcome of the board of directors’ vote.”
Smart was often more observer than active coach at the LakePoint camp. He walked around the fields to get a good look at the players. The assistants, particularly Coley who taught proper steps in one drill to the receivers, were more hands on with the campers.
Georgia has held its own various camps in Athens--youth, 7-on-7, lineman, kicking -from June 2 and finishing on Wednesday.
Bulldog assistant coaches and support staffers had fanned out the past couple of weeks at camps in state and in places like Birmingham and Nashville. Offensive line coach Sam Pittman was in Brunswick for a camp Wednesday.
Bobo spent Tuesday at a Colorado State satellite camp in Yuma, Col., 145 miles from the Fort Collins campus.
“This is a little different than Yuma,” Bobo said. “Yuma was more of a service to the community which was good for the kids.”
Bobo also did satellite camps in Texas and California.
He will join Smart and Georgia Southern at a camp Thursday in Buford, something Bobo said he and Smart were talking about for some time.
“There’s a lot of guys that we’re recruiting that are in this area and you get to chance to really go out and instruct and they get a chance to see us coach and see if this is a guy that I really want to play for,” Bobo said.
Bobo said he will offer recruits scholarship based off of what he sees in camp after watching film and talking to high school coaches.
“You can see him move, change direction and compete and take coaching,” Bobo said.
...READ MORE HERE...
