Here is what it’s like being a football prospect at Sacramento State’s huge summer camp
The time was 12:45 p.m.
Minutes after the first senior skills session of the day ended at the Sacramento State football camp on a hot and still Wednesday, the scene looked like a job fair. Only, no one was in shirts and ties. This was a shorts and T-shirt affair. High school students hoping to be recruited flocked to college coaches to introduce themselves. The best of the best potentially ended the conversation with a full-ride scholarship offer.
This was a noncontact camp, no pads, but the energy was off the charts. Linemen had their moment — footwork, hand placement, the works. Quarterbacks threw short and long. Receivers ran routes and defenders tried to pick off their passes.
Curron Borders was there. The star senior running back from Antelope High School has a scholarship offer from the University of Nevada. He used his time after the session to talk to coaches. He was one of dozens of players who made the rounds to talk to other coaches.
“It’s definitely like a job interview,” Borders said. “It’s a big commitment (if they) try and get you into their school. It’s taken very seriously and it’s kind of cool.”
That’s life as a camper and a teenager looking to play football at the next level. Only a small percentage of the 1,900-plus campers in attendance will get a golden ticket scholarship offer. The camp included athletes as young as middle school and as old as junior college football players. They came from California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington and Idaho.
More than 240 college colleges from more than two dozen Division l schools were in attendance. The head coaches in attendance on day one of the two-day camp included David Shaw (Stanford), Kalen DeBoer (Washington), Chip Kelly (UCLA), Brent Brennan (San Jose State), Jonathan Smith (Oregon State), Justin Wilcox (Cal) and camp host Troy Taylor (Sacramento State).
There is no secret to running one of the largest camps on the West Coast. Just time, preparation and great support staff. Sacramento State’s staff worked for four months to prepare 24 hours’ worth of football camp across two days.
“It’s an incredible amount of planning,” Taylor said. “Garrett Wolfe and Jeff Goldsmith, those guys do all the organization and all credit goes to them. People rave about the camp when they come because of how well organized it is. (People) try and give me congrats (for the camp) but I say that’s Jeff and Garrett. Those guys are really good. They have everything wired in and it goes smoothly. People appreciate that.”
Wolfe is Sac State’s assistant athletic director for football operations. He added, “It takes effort. Naturally, (running a camp) is a lot like football. The more prepared you are, the better you can react to things you are unprepared for. The preparation started four months ago. Getting all the camp registration set up … also get all of our players employed (so they can work the camp). That stuff you have to kick off super early. … With all of the help we have, everyone contributes. Coaches are planning the drills. Jeff is handling all the camp employment assignments and athletic training.”
This camp isn’t new here. Jody Sears, who coached the Hornets before Taylor took over in 2018, ran a camp at the school. Taylor and his staff transformed it. Some of the changes included dividing athletes by grade and position. The first camp under the new format was last year.
“We knew we wanted to continue (this camp the old staff hosted),” Taylor said. “It’s great to know (this) is probably the best and largest camp on the West Coast. Kids and coaches know about it. It’s a great event.”
The camp has drawn high praise from other coaches in attendance, including Brennan.
“Troy and the staff at Sac State have done an incredible job of building this (camp) up over the years,” Brennan said. “It’s run very efficiently and a ton of kids are getting cycled through. There are probably a couple hundred college coaches here so the opportunity for these kids to (get exposure) is fantastic.”
This story was originally published June 17, 2022 at 5:00 AM.