Win-win situation

FLORENCE

Some are looking to get noticed by college coaches. Others just want to improve their football skills.

Whatever their reasons, more than 600 high school-age players just spent three grueling days in the Shoals at the North Alabama's Offensive/Defensive Line and Offensive Skills camps. The players arrived Saturday morning and departed Monday evening.

UNA coach Mark Hudspeth said the camp has grown steadily in numbers each year. He said the camp's primary goal is to help the players prepare for the upcoming season.

"Our main focus is to work with the kids and help them develop good work habits," Hudspeth said. "We give them things they can work on the rest of the summer, and also give them three good days of conditioning. Obviously, they can't learn every skill in three days, but we want them to leave here with a good foundation. Plus, if they are not in shape this camp is a good wake-up call for them."

Because of the renovation to UNA's practice field, the Offensive/Defensive Line Camp was held at the Florence Middle School baseball field behind Braly Stadium. Around 400 players attended that camp, while around 200 players were at the Offensive Skills Camp, held at the North Florence soccer complex.

The camps brought in players from seven states.

Wide receiver Trevor Freemyer was part of a large group of players from Stuttgart High School in Arkansas.

"Our coach knew coach Hudspeth from when he coached in Arkansas, so he brings us here every year," Freemyer said. "It's a really good camp. I know it helps us get better every day. It's pretty tough, but we know it is going to help us become better players."

Camps such as those at UNA can also serve another purpose for the player and the coaching staff - they provide coaches with a valuable opportunity to evaluate and make contact with potential prospects. For the players, the camps are an opportunity to showcase their skills in front of several college coaches.

Although it is difficult for coaches to evaluate players because of the numbers, Hudspeth said every coach at the camp keeps their eyes open for potential college prospects.

"Every position coach has a group of 14 players he is responsible for," Hudspeth said. "They let me know who to watch, and that allows me to walk around and see each prospect.

"It's harder to evaluate players in shorts, but you can see a kid's agility from our drills, as well as their speed and coordination. A lot of these players came to our Senior Camp, so we're already familiar with them, and there are a few others we've already talked with."

Hudspeth said it is not unusual for a player to impress the coaches so much in camp that the kid heads back home with a scholarship offer.

"We do offer some that we haven't seen before camp," he said. "On Sunday night, we visit with a select few, and have them fill out a questionnaire. We'll either offer them a scholarship there or let them know that we will be recruiting them."

Even non-seniors hope to catch the eye of a college coach in hopes of earning a scholarship offer in the future.

"I've enjoyed working with the college coaches," said Blake Reasons, a junior guard at Huntsville High School. "They've already helped me with my stance and how to use my feet, I would like to get a chance to play college football, and this is a building block to that. UNA would definitely be an option for me."

Reasons' teammate, center Charlie Shannon, said earning a scholarship offer was not his primary reason for attending the camp, but he would love to earn an offer.

"I'm just here trying to be the best player I can be," he said. "I'm didn't come here expecting to get an offer, but it would be great if it happened. I would love to keep playing football after high school, so it would be nice to be noticed. Both of my parents graduated from UNA, and I've got a lot of family in Florence, so UNA is definitely one of my college choices."

In addition to a being a good recruiting tool for the football team, Hudspeth said the camps are also a great recruiting tool for the university. The camps gave over 600 high school kids a chance to see the entire campus and just the football facilities. Hudspeth said both the Rivers and Rice Hall dorms were filled to capacity with campers.

"Having this many kids here is great exposure for our university," he said. "A lot of these guys might not play college football at UNA, but they still might be interested in coming to school here. I feel like these camps and our Senior Day, where we invite all the seniors to our final home game, are the biggest recruiting days of the year for the university. These camps are not only good for our football program, but for the university as well."

Jeff McIntyre can be reached at 7400-5737 or jeff.mcintyre@timesdaily.com.