BENTONVILLE -- Edmond (Okla.) Memorial offensive lineman Grant Hill has heard plenty about the Arkansas State football program from alum Warren Wand, who now plays running back for the Red Wolves.
But Hill and a few of his teammates got to get more experience with the coaching staff by taking part in a satellite camp held Tuesday evening at Tiger Stadium.
The distance the players from Edmond had to travel was also cut in half by not traveling to Jonesboro, which is one of the reasons why Arkansas State coach Blake Anderson says the camps should continue.
"That creates opportunities for kids and it makes it a lot less expensive for kids to come to camp," Anderson said. "If it looks like we're going to move toward recruiting them and they are interested, then they can come to our campus when it's a little more feasible and they can have a little more time. They also know we have a significant interest in them."
The NCAA had previously banned satellite camps, but then rescinded the ban.
Anderson said the idea of hosting camps at sites across the state is to make it easier for players to attend and for his coaches to get eyes on those players.
"It creates opportunities and makes it a lot less expensive for the kids," Anderson said.
Just less than 90 players from Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Alabama took part in the two-hour camp.
It's the third year the Red Wolves have hosted a camp in Northwest Arkansas with the first two being held at Springdale Har-Ber. In addition, coaches from Harding and Southwest Baptist in Bolivar, Mo., also took part in Tuesday's event.
In addition to hosting a camp on their campus in Jonesboro, ASU also hosted one in Texarkana and was part of a huge one in Little Rock on Sunday, which included coaches from almost every college in Arkansas. Anderson said they are also affiliated with satellite camps in other parts of the country like Georgia, Ole Miss and Birmingham, Ala.
The camp was a second chance for Caleb Johnson, a 6-foot-5, 300-pound offensive tackle from Mount Pleasant, Texas. He was unable to make it to ASU's camp in Texarkana because of another commitment, but chose to make the five-hour drive to Bentonville.
"This just gives me more exposure with different coaches," Johnson said.
Anderson said the opponents of satellite camps don't want other schools invading their territory. But it will also likely be regulated more in the future, he said.
"Y0u've got people who are in locations they want to protect and make it hard for other folks to come in," Anderson said. "They don't have to leave campus. They can get everybody on campus they want. So those folks have made a rumble. They have all picked arguments that fit their situation. At the end of the day, it's not fair to the kids if you control to where nobody can move.
"It's still gonna get controlled more than it is now. This is probably a little bit on the wild, wild west stage right now. A little bit too free. I think somewhere in the middle is probably where it needs to be."
Sports on 06/08/2016