Satellite Camps Will Only Intensify Ohio State-Michigan Rivalry

Having each spent the better part of the past month on the same side in the fight to save satellite camps in college football, Jim Harbaugh and Urban Meyer have proved to make a formidable tag team.

But now that the NCAA has lifted its three-week long ban of the controversial recruiting practice, the Michigan head coach and his Ohio State counterpart can once again return to the roles they were born to play in the college football world. And if anyone was under the assumption Harbaugh and Meyer would remain unlikely allies past their interest in a common cause, it didn't take long for college football's most famous rivalry to reignite.

In fact, as a result of their recent efforts, the bad blood between the Buckeyes and Wolverines has only intensified.

"We certainly monitor everything," Meyer answered when asked about Michigan this past signing day. "We know everything that everybody's doing."

Having brought satellite camps to the forefront of college football a year ago, Harbaugh hasn't shown any signs of slowing down now that the practice is legal in every conference across the country. After last year's "Swarm Tour" included 10 camps in seven states over an eight-day span, this summer's sequel already possesses 14 planned stops, according to a list compiled by the Detroit News.

But while Harbaugh may be the king of satellite camps, Meyer plans on increasing his participation in the practice this offseason as well. In addition to a previously scheduled camp in Lawrenceville, Georgia, Ohio State will also host a camp at Fort Lauderdale's St. Thomas Aquinas High School, the school confirmed to Bleacher Report earlier this week.

"Ohio State, not surprisingly because it's a national brand, has had great success recruiting in Florida," Meyer said in 2014, when his team hosted practices at St. Thomas Aquinas prior to its postseason appearance in the Orange Bowl. "It's a primary area for us because we have so much experience down here. We know most of these coaches."

Chris O'Meara/Associated Press

Unsurprisingly, Harbaugh would also like to hold a camp at St. Thomas Aquinas, a Buckeyes pipeline program that has sent Joey Bosa, Damon Arnette and Nick Bosa to Columbus in recent years and also happens to be the home of 2017 5-star wideout and Ohio State target Trevon Grimes.

And according to 247Sports' Luke Stampini, Harbaugh would like to do so on the same day the Buckeyes are already planning on.

What a coincidence.

Welcome to college football in 2016, at least as far as the offseason is concerned, where turf wars traditionally fought in private on the recruiting trail are now playing out publicly for all of college football—and its fans—to see.

While it seems unlikely that Ohio State and/or St. Thomas Aquinas would allow Michigan to crash its camp—the high school wouldn't confirm the Wolverines' reported interest when asked—the practice of satellite camps now being widespread has created a fascinating dynamic where prep programs may be forced to choose between rival programs that possess mutual interest in their players.

Harbaugh has already witnessed this firsthand, with Georgia and Kirby Smart wasting little time joining Michigan's previously planned stop in Cedar Grove, Georgia, once the SEC lifted its own ban on satellite camps last week. The reality is one-school camps may be few and far between in the near future, as evidenced by a rumored satellite camp featuring Ohio State, Alabama, USC and TCU, per Zach Barnett of Football Scoop.

But when it comes to the Big Ten's biggest rivalry, the chess game that's become offseason planning gets taken to another level.

Jay LaPrete/Associated Press

St. Thomas Aquinas might feel a loyalty to Meyer given their pre-existing relationship, but what about a school with only loose ties to either program? If Michigan is setting up shop in, say, Texas, what's to stop the Buckeyes staff from asking for an invite—and perhaps more importantly, what's the incentive for the prospective high school to say no to a camp that would in turn feature two of college football's most prominent coaches?

Then again, it's Harbaugh who's much more likely to be the aggressor in such situation. While thus far, Ohio State's only officially announced satellite camps have been rooted in self-interest, Harbaugh's reported attempt to crash the STA camp shows a gamesmanship Meyer has yet to match this offseason.

"We have to remain true to ourselves and who are we and who am I," Meyer said of his recruiting strategy on signing day.

Harbaugh is also the only of the two to cross enemy territory at this point, hosting a camp in Youngstown, Ohio, a year ago. On Wednesday, it was revealed the Wolverines would continue their tradition of camping in the Buckeye State, with the announcement of a Michigan-hosted camp at Warren G. Harding High School in Warren, Ohio, on June 9, per WGH assistant coach Doug Sangregorio:

To classify Harbaugh's pattern of setting up camp in Ohio as "shots fired" would be a stretch, given the Wolverines' history of recruiting their bordering state. While Michigan has signed just three prospects from Ohio in two classes since Harbaugh arrived at his alma matter, it would have been naive to believe he wouldn't eventually target Ohio State territory more extensively, given Ohio's fertile recruiting ground.

"Anywhere that the youngster has proven to be highly competitive in the classroom, on the football field and a good citizen we're going to want to take a look at them," Harbaugh said on signing day. "You're allowed to cross state borders in my America—and bring them to here."

Satellite camps have only aided Harbaugh's ability to do that, with stops planned all across the country, from Virginia to Atlanta to Texas and California and most places in between set for this summer. While in the Golden State, it was recently revealed the Wolverines will host a camp at Antioch High School, which just so happens to be the home of 5-star running back and Alabama commit Najee Harris, who recently visited Ohio State.

Will Meyer pull a Harbaugh and try his hand at attempting to attend the camp as well? That remains to be seen.

But as satellite camps run rampant, the possibilities appear endless as The Game is no longer just being played on the last weekend of November in college football's most storied rivalry.

Ben Axelrod is Bleacher Report's Big Ten lead writer. You can follow him on Twitter @BenAxelrod. Unless noted otherwise, all quotes were obtained firsthand. Recruit rankings and info courtesy of 247Sports.