Politics doesn’t hold much on college football camps when it comes to creating strange bedfellows.
For proof, look who’s coming to FAU in the coming weeks.
Tennessee will be among the schools sending coaches to FAU’s June 5 camp hosted by new Owls’ coach Lane Kiffin. That might not sit too well with Volunteer fans, many of whom still haven’t forgiven Kiffin for bolting from Tennessee after one 7-6 season in 2009 to take the head coaching job at USC.
Kiffin will also welcome coaches from the University of Miami to Boca Raton for the second summer camp, on June 8. And before anyone even gets to Boca Raton, Kiffin will head to Gainesville to work a camp at Florida.
It’s all part of a busy summer camp schedule for FAU’s new regime.
Camps have become an important summer event for recruiting purposes, allowing coaches to evaluate potential recruits while teaching skills intended to make those recruits even more appealing.
“The camp evaluation is huge for both sides because we get to evaluate (recruits) and they get to evaluate how we coach,” Kiffin said. “We’re in a constant battle every day trying to get kids to come to campus and to be in our camps.”
For the June 5 individual camp, coaches from Michigan, Vanderbilt, Oregon, Illinois, Arkansas and Keiser, will join Tennessee coaches working what is for them a satellite camp.
Michigan is expected to bring its entire staff, including Jim Harbaugh. Arkansas coach Bret Bielema is expected to be part of the Arkansas contingent. Former FAU coach Charlie Partridge, who Kiffin replaced, frequently cited Bielema as a mentor.
Illinois coach Lovie Smith is considered likely to work the camp, too. Smith and Kiffin’s father, Monte Kiffin, worked together on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers staff in the late 1990s. FAU is scheduled to play at Illinois in 2020.
Coaches from 15 schools are scheduled to be in Boca Raton on June 8, one of five regional camps for schools sponsored by adidas. Along with Miami; Miss St., NC State, Eastern Michigan, Indiana, Louisville, Eastern Illinois, Texas AM, Miami-Oh, Central Michigan, Western Mich, Northern Illinois, Nebraska, Mercer and Arizona St. will be represented.
Both camps are open to high school football players. The fee for the June 5 camp, is $40, while the June 8 camp is $45 with participants likely receiving additional adidas swag.
Early indications are that as many as 500 potential recruits could attend each camp.
Between those two camps, Kiffin will head to Macon, Georgia, where he will take part in another camp for adidas schools hosted by Mercer.
FAU will also hold a camp for kickers, punters and long snappers on June 12 and a team camp from June 16-18.
On July 22 FAU pulls double duty. Coaches will hold one camp for offensive and defensive linemen and a separate 7-on-7 camp.
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