A Day at the Nike Camp

By: Will Stewart | Founder

Two years ago, when the Nike camp made its first-ever stop
in Blacksburg, it created quite a buzz, and the weather was drizzly and a little
chilly. This time around, Nike camps are almost old hat in the fast-moving world
of football recruiting, and the 281 attendees were greeted with a rare sight:
snow in late April and frigid weather that caused the players to spend most of
their time indoors. I spent the day in Blacksburg, and what follows are some
personal observations and descriptions of how the camp was run and some of the
action I observed. Included are pictures and four video clips.

2005
Nike Camp
Multimedia
Pics
(click to enlarge)
freezing.jpg (190219 bytes)
It’s freezing out here!
loganel.jpg (86963 bytes)
MD commit Antonio Logan-El gives me the evil eye.
anthony1.jpg (70231 bytes)
Marcus Anthony walks back to the line after kicking butt.
hinson1.jpg (60380 bytes)
Isaiah Hinson inspects a … broken nail?
hinson2.jpg (115602 bytes)
Hinson gets ready to attack the dummy.
hinson3.jpg (107407 bytes)
It’s freezing, but Hinson and a buddy look tough for the camera.
Videos
(All WVM format)

Hampton QB Tyrod Taylor shows us some footwork, then fires.

Line drill

DE Marcus Anthony speed rush #1

DE Marcus Anthony speed rush #2

Each spring, there are a dozen Nike camps, run by Student
Sports, and they take place (mostly on college campuses) around the nation. This
year, they run from April 10th to June 18th:

  • Sunday, April 10th – Miami, Fla.
  • Sunday, April 17th – Los Angeles, Calif.
  • Saturday, April 23rd – Fort Worth, Texas
  • Sunday, April 24th – Blacksburg, Va.
  • Saturday, April 30th – State College, Pa.
  • Sunday, May 1st – Tallahassee, Fla.
  • Saturday, May 7th – Ann Arbor, Mich.
  • Saturday, May 7th – Manhattan, Kan.
  • Saturday, May 14th – Athens, Ga.
  • Sunday, May 15th – Oxford, Miss.
  • Saturday, May 21st – Stanford, Calif.
  • Saturday, June 18th – Eugene, Ore.

The top prospects from a region are invited to attend a
Nike camp, making them a hotbed of football talent, and the format is simple.
Players are weighed and measured, then they go through a few simple combine-type
drills (bench pressing 185 pounds, vertical jump, and the 40-yard dash), and
then they break up into position groups and receive training from the Student
Sports instructors.

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