While Alabama’s Nick Saban moaned and groaned about satellite camps, Blake Anderson and Bret Bielema came together for Arkansas prep players.
More than 600 players worked out last Sunday night for coaches from every collegiate football program in the state except one. That’s a lot of exposure for some kids who may not have had the means to attend one on-campus camp this summer. Several kids are going to earn a scholarship because Anderson and Bielema came together for the All-Arkansas camp.
First, let’s cast aside one notion to which a Little Rock television reporter alluded. The two coaches have no differences. They don’t play each other and aren’t in the same conference. There is no rivalry, not now, and maybe never. The only way the two programs compete is on the recruiting trail, and ASU knows that most of the state’s top-tier players will choose Arkansas if they don’t leave the state.
It doesn’t keep Anderson and his staff from trying hard. But strain? Hard feelings? Nope.
However, let’s give some credit to Bielema here. He didn’t need to attend this camp. Nearly every player the Hogs want to evaluate will be on campus this summer or has been seen during the spring. The large Power-Five Conference budget is a major asset. So, Bielema and his staff really didn’t have a dire need to be in Little Rock, but he knows, and so does Anderson, if players are aware the Arkansas staff is going to be there, that entices even more players to participate.
"Just to promote our game, to promote War Memorial, to promote Arkansas, those are all positives,” Bielema told reporters at the camp. “It’s good for my coaches, too. I brought all my grad assistants. ... To see them work with the guys one on one will be good.
"Obviously, when we agreed to do this, I knew the prospects we were going to have our eyes on were going to be a limited number. It does give us a different area, a different location to come over and see some kids that could have a hard time getting to Northwest Arkansas. I think there'll be some underclassmen involved."
The real winners are the players and some of the smaller programs. Ouachita Baptist Coach Todd Knight acknowledged on Little Rock television that the event was big for his program. Arkansas produces a glut of NCAA Division II talent, and to see that many players at one time is a state college coach’s dream come true.
I am sure Anderson and Bielema talked about all of that when discussing the camp idea during some coaching conference committee meetings. Kudos to Anderson for including all of the programs. They wouldn’t have had to invite every program.
As the debate about the viability of satellite camps rages, the main case I see is how much it benefits the recruits. Saban is just frustrated that he may have to fight more opponents for players in his fertile recruiting ground in the South. If a kid from Texas wants to learn more about Michigan, they shouldn’t have to go to Ann Arbor. Not every family can afford that. These camps amounts to more exposure for players which is a good thing, whether Saban likes it or not.
Is Michigan Coach Jim Harbaugh pushing the envelope? Probably so, but every coach has the same opportunity to conduct the camps, so it’s an even playing field. If you don’t like it, hold your own camp.
The All-Arkansas camp, though, is what is right about these events. The intentions by all coaches are good, and the cooperation of everyone ensures the best possible exposure for each player. Bielema has hit road blocks from SEC rivals trying to conduct camps in Arlington, Texas, and New Orleans. It is good to see that he didn’t give up all together and was welcomed by Anderson.
Bielema was noncommittal on UA’s involvement in the camp next year. Hopefully, the event will be a yearly occurrence and future Arkansas prep players can reap the benefits.