BOCA RATON – No longer able to hire high school coaches to work his high school football camps, FAU coach Lane Kiffin leaned even harder on some familiar people to fill the void – his players.
About 25 current football players taught high school football players techniques and offered tips during the FAU camps held Monday and Thursday.
“We’ve always tried to employ our players because it gives them a chance to work with young kids, gives them a chance to demonstrate the drills that we’ve taught them and you’re allowed to pay them, too,” Kiffin said.
Kiffin declined to tell how much the players earned by working the camp, saying he wasn’t certain.
More than 900 high school football players attended the camps over the two days.
Kiffin relied on FAU’s position coaches to pick the players from their units to work the camp.
For the camp, Kiffin also relied on members of the Owls support staff, giving graduate assistants, off-the-field analysts and assistant strength coaches the opportunity teach.
“It’s really good to see those guys get a chance to coach because those guys, besides the GA’s, can not coach our own players during our practices and stuff,” said Kiffin, referring to an NCAA rule that permits only nine coaches and graduate assistants to work with players during practices.
Watching the support staff work with players affords Kiffin the chance to assess their coaching abilities.
“You get to kind of evaluate those guys because you always want to have your ready list – if I lose this guy, this may be a guy I replace him with,” Kiffin said.
One staffer Kiffin wasn’t interested in evaluating was strength and conditioning coach Wilson Love.
Kiffin brought the frenetic Love with him from Alabama and already knows well what he can do.
“I sent him (inside) today,” Kiffin said. “I’m worried about all these other head coaches seeing how good he is and stealing him.”
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