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.
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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