National recruiting combines across the country have gained a lot of traction over the last few years. But college camps are still the way to go.
Schuman’s National Underclassmen camps and Football University are just two examples of companies that will be holding events in the Denver area over the course of the spring and summer. And while these combines do an excellent job of finding as many names as possible to target with their “elite” invites, the bottom line is that these camps are set up to make money and those invites go out to marginal college prospects rather than sure-fire Division I athletes.
The Cyler Miles and Alex Kozans of the world who already boast double-digit offers do not need to attend these combines to make a reputation for themselves. So the majority of the athletes who attend are the ones who are hopeful that a Division I-A (BCS) or Division I-AA (FCS) scholarship comes their way.
While these camps may write about the performance attendees put on during the day, the problem is college coaches cannot watch these combines per NCAA rules. Thus, the best use of money for families going through the football recruiting process is college camps.
College coaches do hand out more camp invites than one can imagine — sorry to say this but it doesn’t mean anything if Colorado and Colorado State invited you to their camp — but they have one huge advantage: in the end, the coaches at the college camps can actually extend a scholarship offer.
Assistant coaches from other schools at a variety of collegiate levels will also be there working the event. So those who attend Division I camp may also be seen by Division I-AA (FCS), Division II, and NAIA coaches.
It’s a much better way for an athlete to improve their stock.
Quick hitters
• Bear Creek quarterback Sean Flanagan posted huge numbers last fall as a junior in a pass-happy system but that hasn’t kept college coaches away. CSU-Pueblo, Nebraska-Kearney, and Northern Colorado have all paid visits to his school in order to see him up close.
• Valor Christian linebacker A.J. Isenburg earned all state honors last fall while helping the Eagles make a run to their second state championship. Some of the schools after him include New Mexico, Northern Arizona, Missouri State, UMASS, and Weber State.
Christian James is the publisher of . His recruiting column appears regularly on . Reach him via email at christian@copreps.com
