College Football 2012: Off-Campus Scrimmages Are a Smart, Aggressive Strategy

In recent years we have seen Miami do it. Now Arizona and North Carolina are joining the mix. In the coming years expect more schools to jump on the boat.

What we're talking about is not some revolutionary football practice. No, we're talking about taking the time to schedule a live scrimmage somewhere besides the friendly confines of their home stadium or practice fields.

The move is pretty easy, but it is absolutely brilliant to use in the realm of today's college football. Moving a scrimmage off-campus, though inconvenient to the players, equipment staff and trainers, is a solid move in the ongoing game of "building rapport" that college coaches play.

The coaches are always looking for a way to build a strong connection with high schools, with high school coaches and prove to their talent suppliers that they truly care about the well-being of the high school community.

By moving practices to a local high school or small college the university is turning the coaches clinic ideal on its head. Instead of coaches coming from all over to visit the school and see how they do things, the school is going to where the coaches are located. High school coaches get to go check out the team, see their former players practice and get a look at how things get done at the next level.

The college is also going to where the players are. For Arizona that is down into the Phoenix area. For North Carolina that is down to Charlotte. For Miami that's right into their own backyard.

It is essentially stealing an unofficial visit for the kids who can't always make the drive up for a Saturday scrimmage. Seeing how the practices are run and how coaches interact with players is an invaluable resource for kids who have their biggest life decision coming up less than a year.

From a program standpoint, with respect to recruiting and goodwill with high schools, the move is brilliant. On another front, the publicity angle, this is also a win for the programs making the move off-campus.

Arizona got to give their Phoenix area fans a taste of the new scheme without having to drive a couple hours for the spring game. Tar Heels fans in Charlotte will get a glimpse of their new coaching staff today, in Charlotte, instead of having to wait until the spring game next weekend.

It is a smart move by the conferences that allow their schools to be mobile in the spring. The SEC, for the moment at least, does not allow for the barnstorming tours across the state as the ACC and Pac-12 do. We'll see if coaches in the game's best conference respond to this measure, as they watch other schools capitalize on a golden opportunity.