California’s coaches will be attending a number of satellite camps in Texas, Southern California and at home in the Bay Area. But this doesn’t mean that they agree with them at all.
Rather, Dykes believes the camps are just a stunt being pulled for attention.
“I think the satellite camp thing is a little bit silly,” Dykes stated. “I think it’s all about generating attention, and I get that.”
At this point, that idea is shared by many. Michigan sparked a lot of anger with their “Summer Swarm.” The camps were banned – until they weren’t. Their reintroduction has sparked debate across the conferences.
In the brief period of time that they were outlawed, the people who were most against it were those that put on camps that had hosted college coaches in past times. Some camps charge over $100 for a recruit to attend the event because a wide range of coaches from several different programs will be present and ready to give offers to prospects. Such a camp allows prospects that would otherwise be totally unknown a shot at impressing a top college program.
Jim Harbaugh and members of his Michigan Wolverines coaching staff will be there for numerous satellite camps in California. A couple of these camps will be at the high schools of No. 4 prospect Najee Harris and No. 15 prospect Joseph. Tennessee will also be hosting its elite linemen camp at the high school of Trey Smith, this year’s top overall prospect in the country.
Dykes still isn’t sold on the overall usefulness of satellite camps. He believes that to do a small number of them is no issue, but he won’t be attending with intention to create hype and drama or with the thought that he’ll discover an amazing, hidden prospect.
“By this stage, we usually know whether or not we’re recruiting them,” Dykes claimed. “I don’t think we’re going to learn that much about them by going out and doing a satellite camp, but we are going to get to know them and they’re going to have an opportunity to get to know us, and that’s what recruiting is all about — it’s about relationships and it’s about trust, and I think that’s a lot more important than testing some kid.”
Dykes did say that the way a little-known player fares at the event can have some impact at the way a program views him, but that an evaluation of a prospect done in just one day will probably not end with a scholarship offer.
“More often than not, kids hurt themselves more than they help themselves,” Dykes stated. “A lot of times you’re not sure about a kid and he goes to some camp and he doesn’t run particularly well, so you say, ‘Maybe we’ll pass on him.’”
He also brought up the idea that athletes do a lot of camps in a very short time period, and that they may stressed and just not in top condition during this stretch of time. Dykes views the camps as merely a tool in recruiting, rather than an assessment that can be depended on by itself.
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*Featured Photo (above) credit to USA TODAY Sports
