re: College Football Camps

Just went through the middle school run. Son is in 9th grade.
First off only do it if the kid is having fun. You are not going to get real exposure at that age. Regardless of what people tell you
1. Most college camps for recruiting dont allow any kids younger than 9th grade.
2. Some colleges have camps for kids younger than 9th grade but they vary wildly from half a day to 3 days. Alabama and Clemson are two that people have spoke highly of.
3. My son liked both Football University and USA Football. They are 2 day camps and are all over the country. NextGen is another one
4. The All-Star games are fun but thats it. Play with better kids and meet new kids.
5. At that age everything is to make money. Dont get me wrong, they are fun , the kids learn, and they are good camps. Dont fool yourself into thinking it get exposure.
Measureables don't matter at that age. Two years down the road, maybe, if he is in the top .1 percent in size or top .1 percent in 40. Basically the freaks. Most of the 8th graders we ran accross that had "offers" were very fast.
If you think your son is going to be 6-8, you better be 6-5 or better and your wife near 6-0. People will look at your size more than his.
Ask more questions if you want.
Always remember, its only for fun at that age.

Your kid doesn’t even look that athletic.

My 6 year old Jayden would K his arse up in three pitches.

Thanks for the input. Going into 8th grade he's just doing the university's kicking camp and general HS camp. So the earliest going to a serious camp would be after playing 8th grade and knowing whether he likes it. The "100s of kids" is exactly why I would never send him to Dak's camp at State. I know there's a benefit to getting a kid on the radar as early as possible but a waste of money if they won't stand out. (Ramczyk only comes up because he played at WI...where I grew up.)

And yeah, I know the picture looks funky but still better than scratching out faces. Not my place to post a picture where someone else's kid is identifiable.

I think camps are ok but be careful vicariously living through them and keep things in reasonable check until 8th/9th grade.

Also, he may not actually develop like you think.......he isn’t you.

I was 6-0” and 190lbs as a 12 yo

“Projected/guessed” to reach 6’-7”

I didn’t. I hit 6-2.5” but did hit 285 in HS and 302 at LSU.....could lift quit a lot.

My kids 9th grade oline:

6-4 275....super athletic. NFL genes.
6-1 230(A).....muscular, mean. Small college potential
5-10 235...scrappy but HS the limit
6-3 295.....diamond in the rough. Thick and moves very well. Size 16 shoe. Kid could be special.
6-2 275.....freaky coordinated and holds schools squat record 450lbs in 8th. Dad was 2nd round pick at aTm and played 9 years in the league.
6-1 220(B).....muscular, mean identical twin to A

Then there’s the hyper active DE at 6-2” 220 who runs like the wind and is strong. He has SEC backer written all over him.