Crimson Tide Football Summer Camp Begins With Slow Week, but Big Names

Larry Burton (Panama City Beach, Fla.) This week begins something that at one time was a PR tool, but has now become an important recruiting tool—summer camp sessions for high school athletes.

What was first started simply to give instruction on better techniques to players wishing to step up their game at the collegiate level, now also includes getting to know the coaches, the program, and the philosophy of the school doing the camp.

Never wanting to leave any stone unturned when it comes to recruiting, Alabama head coach Nick Saban was all over these camps from the beginning.

This week kicks it all off, and if you were just going by the numbers, this is a slow week. The heaviest attendance comes in July (it always has), but this week has some important names "dropping by", including one big name that's here for the whole camp.

This weekend I wrote an article on recruit Trey DePriest, a linebacker out of Springfield, Ohio, to let Alabama fans know who he is, and why he would be a great catch for the Crimson Tide.

This is the week DePriest has chosen to come down and attend camp. That is good, because the fewer numbers means more face-time with each coach. He is sure to get a lot of personal attention that he might not receive in a very crowded week.

And to underscore the fact that he is considering Alabama as one of his top schools, he's brought just about the entire family down from Ohio so they can see the campus, experience the area, and meet the coaches as well.

This is an important signal to the Tide coaching staff that DePriest is serious about Alabama, and wanting to give his family enough insight to help him make his decision.

Also stopping by, but only for a short visit, was Jermauria Rasco, from Shreveport, LA. You can think of him as sort of a Marcel Darius-type, strong side defensive end. At 6'3" and 235 pounds as a high school sophomore, you can see he has the frame to add another 20 pounds of muscle.

In just his sophomore season, he was a sack machine, piling up 26 sacks, and a staggering 149 tackles.

Meanwhile, Vigor High School of Pritchard, Ala., is sending several players, including 6'2", 243-pound tight end Paul Kyles, and 6'0", 255-pound Darius Philon, a weak side defensive end.

Another linebacker who will be one of the top picks in 2012, and who is coming this week, is Reggie Ragland, a 6'4", 240-pound outside linebacker from Bob Jones High School in Huntsville, Ala. He visited once before in March, and has shown considerable interest in the Tide.

Ragland will only be staying at camp for one day, but this visit is just one more indication of his interest in Alabama.

Many of the bigger names do not stay for the entire week, but just take short visits.

On one last note about these summer camps and their value to the program, I've never met a coach more "wired in" to recruiting than Saban. To think there's a kid out there somewhere that's escaped his view would be shocking, but according to Saban, that's just the case.

"With all the players on all the teams out there you can't possibly know about everyone, and sometimes, you find someone in these summer camps that show you something that puts them on the radar," Saban once said at a gathering I attended.

Then there's also the "Who will these attendees talk to" factor. Sometimes summer camp attendees have had influence in getting others to attend, or consider the program giving it.

So while Alabama players may be enjoying a nice summer off, it's business as usual for Saban and staff.