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From Rivals.com analyst Clint Cosgrove this morning:
College coaches should be able to attend offseason camps and combines
I have long believed that the limitations put on college coaches when it comes to evaluating prospects in person is a detriment to both recruits and college football programs alike. This used to be a topic that I thought about often, but the thought had drifted to the back of my mind until Sunday's Rivals Camp Series event in Atlanta.
So, what was it about the Rivals Camp Series event that made my long-held belief come to the forefront of my mind again? It was the play of newly minted four-star linebacker Christopher Jones, who was merely a blip on our radar with no stars and three non-Power Five offers to his name entering the camp.
Jones proved to be a bona fide stud during Sunday's camp and the level to which he is underrecruited could almost be considered criminal. Not only is Jones an FBS offer-worthy recruit, he is the type of player that would likely have 20-plus Power Five offers by now had college coaches previously been given the opportunity to see what we saw during Sunday's camp.
Instead of being forced to travel on his own dime and potentially having to pay to attend college camps in order to receive the offers he deserves, he could be focusing on a college decision.
The good thing for Jones is he did make it to the camp, he did earn the stars and his recruitment will likely heat up in the next month. But not every college football recruit hits this same jackpot, and many major offer-worthy players ultimately go unseen.
I have seen this time and time again as a former college coach and scout. While the spring evaluation period is an important part of the recruiting process and enables coaches to eyeball recruits in person, it is simply not enough when there are countless opportunities such as the Rivals Camp Series, where college coaches could evaluate recruits in person.
From Rivals.com analyst Clint Cosgrove this morning:
College coaches should be able to attend offseason camps and combines
I have long believed that the limitations put on college coaches when it comes to evaluating prospects in person is a detriment to both recruits and college football programs alike. This used to be a topic that I thought about often, but the thought had drifted to the back of my mind until Sunday's Rivals Camp Series event in Atlanta.
So, what was it about the Rivals Camp Series event that made my long-held belief come to the forefront of my mind again? It was the play of newly minted four-star linebacker Christopher Jones, who was merely a blip on our radar with no stars and three non-Power Five offers to his name entering the camp.
Jones proved to be a bona fide stud during Sunday's camp and the level to which he is underrecruited could almost be considered criminal. Not only is Jones an FBS offer-worthy recruit, he is the type of player that would likely have 20-plus Power Five offers by now had college coaches previously been given the opportunity to see what we saw during Sunday's camp.
Instead of being forced to travel on his own dime and potentially having to pay to attend college camps in order to receive the offers he deserves, he could be focusing on a college decision.
The good thing for Jones is he did make it to the camp, he did earn the stars and his recruitment will likely heat up in the next month. But not every college football recruit hits this same jackpot, and many major offer-worthy players ultimately go unseen.
I have seen this time and time again as a former college coach and scout. While the spring evaluation period is an important part of the recruiting process and enables coaches to eyeball recruits in person, it is simply not enough when there are countless opportunities such as the Rivals Camp Series, where college coaches could evaluate recruits in person.
