When former head coach Rich Ellerson was leading the Army Black Knights’ football program, he was overtly reluctant to have any semblance of a summer football camps at West Point. It was only during the summer of what would be his final season at the helm, as he was dismissed at conclusion of that season did Ellerson and his staff put together a summer camp.
However, when Jeff Monken took over as head coach, summer camps immediately became part of his recruiting strategy, to the degree that the staff would hold two separate one-day camps each summer.
Needless to say, it allows for the coaching staff to see recruits up close and personal, especially those players who participate in the respective camps, but had yet to be offered by the Army coaching staff. Case and point, Cam Harrison, who a few years ago came into camp minus an offer, but put on a show and walked away with Wide Receiver MVP Honors ... by the way, he is currently a starer at wide receiver for the Black Knights.
But this summer (July 28th), the staff will be hosting only one summer camp at Army West Point, because their has been a dramatic shift in how camps are being run by colleges these days ... which leads us to what is called “Mega Camps”.
For example, Monken will be on hand at the Mercer Super Elite Camp (June 1st), which will have coaches and some of their staff members on hand from colleges such as Michigan, Navy, Oklahoma, Georgia Tech, Temple, Syracuse and so many other programs.
Then you have defensive coordinator Jay Bateman and defensive line coach Chad Wilt participating in the East Coast Elite Football Camp on June 1st, held at Rutgers University.
Where it was becoming more challenging and difficult to get the more notable recruits on campus based on a variety of factors (e.g., travel expenses), a prospect can now attend one of these Mega Camps and be seen by several programs on one day.
For example, Wilt may be more involved in the instructional aspect of the aforementioned camp, while Bateman will have an opportunity to scout and watch players that are on the Army radar and of course those that are not. And those ‘not-on-the-Army-radar prospects will have now caught Bateman’s attention and the same can be said for Coach Monken at the Mercer Camp.
Just think about ... a 3-4 star prospect who may not ever consider Army West Point, let alone visit the campus, but he has now caught the attention of Monken and the Black Knights’ mentor is in a position (face-to-face) to catch that prospect's attention as well.
It will surely be interesting to see how things play out over the next week or two relative to what prospects have been tapped from these camps and will they have sincere interest in the Army Black Knights.
Needless to say, the camps are just a segment of the recruiting analytics that the staff participates in. This is coupled with hours and hours of viewing the game and highlight videos of prospects; school as well as in-home visits; interviewing high school coaches to learn about the football skills as well as the character of a recruit and list goes on.
Well, keep it here, because we will have some answers for you very soon.
However, when Jeff Monken took over as head coach, summer camps immediately became part of his recruiting strategy, to the degree that the staff would hold two separate one-day camps each summer.
Needless to say, it allows for the coaching staff to see recruits up close and personal, especially those players who participate in the respective camps, but had yet to be offered by the Army coaching staff. Case and point, Cam Harrison, who a few years ago came into camp minus an offer, but put on a show and walked away with Wide Receiver MVP Honors ... by the way, he is currently a starer at wide receiver for the Black Knights.
But this summer (July 28th), the staff will be hosting only one summer camp at Army West Point, because their has been a dramatic shift in how camps are being run by colleges these days ... which leads us to what is called “Mega Camps”.
For example, Monken will be on hand at the Mercer Super Elite Camp (June 1st), which will have coaches and some of their staff members on hand from colleges such as Michigan, Navy, Oklahoma, Georgia Tech, Temple, Syracuse and so many other programs.
Then you have defensive coordinator Jay Bateman and defensive line coach Chad Wilt participating in the East Coast Elite Football Camp on June 1st, held at Rutgers University.
Where it was becoming more challenging and difficult to get the more notable recruits on campus based on a variety of factors (e.g., travel expenses), a prospect can now attend one of these Mega Camps and be seen by several programs on one day.
For example, Wilt may be more involved in the instructional aspect of the aforementioned camp, while Bateman will have an opportunity to scout and watch players that are on the Army radar and of course those that are not. And those ‘not-on-the-Army-radar prospects will have now caught Bateman’s attention and the same can be said for Coach Monken at the Mercer Camp.
Just think about ... a 3-4 star prospect who may not ever consider Army West Point, let alone visit the campus, but he has now caught the attention of Monken and the Black Knights’ mentor is in a position (face-to-face) to catch that prospect's attention as well.
It will surely be interesting to see how things play out over the next week or two relative to what prospects have been tapped from these camps and will they have sincere interest in the Army Black Knights.
Needless to say, the camps are just a segment of the recruiting analytics that the staff participates in. This is coupled with hours and hours of viewing the game and highlight videos of prospects; school as well as in-home visits; interviewing high school coaches to learn about the football skills as well as the character of a recruit and list goes on.
Well, keep it here, because we will have some answers for you very soon.
