Why Satellite Camps May Not Be for Ohio State and Urban Meyer Moving Forward

GENEVA, Ohio — Once he had settled into his new gig as the tight ends coach at UNC-Charlotte, Dean Hood approached Urban Meyer with a proposition.

"I told Urban, 'Why don't you come and do a camp at Charlotte," Hood recalled on Wednesday at his annual youth camp outside of Ashtabula, Ohio, which he co-hosts alongside his childhood friend, Meyer.

The Ohio State head coach wasn't interested.

"I'm tired of those satellite camps," Meyer responded. "I already do this many."

"Yeah," replied Hood. "But we can hang out for a day."

Meyer was catching on.

"That's a solid point," he relented.

The future of satellite camps remains very much up in the air—both from the standpoints of their legality in college football and overall cost-effectiveness for programs—but when it comes to the Buckeyes, it may take special examples like Hood's proposal for Meyer to make an exception moving forward.

After dabbling in the practice a year ago with a single camp in Florida, Ohio State expanded its efforts this summer throughout the month of June. But thus far, Meyer remains skeptical of the benefits.

If anything, he seems to see more harm than good.

"It's been tough," Meyer admitted. "You worry about our staff, you worry about burnout. At some point, when do you get to watch your kids play baseball? I know what I'm going to do: I'm going to watch my kid play baseball. I want our coaches to do that."

Tony Ding/Associated Press

That may seem like a departure from Meyer's stance on satellite camps from the spring, when he joined Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh in the fight to keep the practice legal in the midst of what was ultimately a three-week ban that was both placed and lifted in April.

Back then, the three-time national champion head coach was adamant about college coaches being allowed to attend camps on other campuses, given how he used to benefit as the head coach at Bowling Green from being able to evaluate players at camps like Ohio State's.

But from that perspective, Meyer's viewpoint hasn't changed.

"It's a must for the non-Power Five [schools]," Meyer said. "We have the Ohio State camp and all the MAC schools are there. And they say there were over 100 scholarships offered in that camp alone, because not everybody can play at the Ohio State level."

What has changed, however, appears to be Meyer's stance on larger programs—like his own—setting up shop at camps across the country, promoting their brand and, yes, recruiting. Call it a case of keeping up with the Joneses, but as Michigan expanded its reach to nearly 40 camps, Ohio State increased its camp presence this summer as well, although admittedly on a smaller scale.

According to Meyer, the Buckeyes only attended "three or four" off-camps in June, but Rivals.com's Ryan Donnelly tracked at least nine summer stops for Ohio State staff members, including multiple trips to Florida and Texas, as well as camps in New Jersey and Georgia, in addition to hosting its own traditional camps in Columbus.

Last year, the Buckeyes first dipped their toes in the satellite camp waters with a trip to Florida Atlantic's campus in Boca Raton, while the annual Sound Mind Sound Body camp in Detroit has been a summer staple for Meyer throughout his time at Ohio State.

Listening to Meyer, the lighter load certainly sounds like his preference—although he's never been one to let hard work stop him from doing what's best for his program.

"You have to do what you have to do to stay up in the world of recruiting," said Meyer. "But there's also an element of freshness with our staff, too. Those are all things we're going to evaluate, because this is really the first year we've done it in earnest."

Jay LaPrete/Associated Press

When Meyer does do his evaluations, he may ultimately find the rewards don't outweigh the risks.

After all, even without the initial aid of satellite camps, the Buckeyes have managed to lay claim to the nation's top-ranked class throughout the majority of the 2017 cycle.

And despite its prominence on the satellite camp circuit, Michigan has seen minimal returns on its investment thus far, with June's worldwide tour drawing immediate commitments from just four total prospects over the course of the Wolverines' 2017 and 2018 classes.

Even in Michigan's 2016 class, the overall impact of Harbaugh's first "Summer Swarm Tour" was minimal.

"The satellite camps were a little overblown," Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell told Bleacher Report of the Wolverines' efforts. "They did get some players from those satellite camps, but they aren't the highest ranked players in their class. It wasn't this sweeping success that a lot of people think it was."

To satellite camp or not satellite camp?

For Meyer, the answer may be a happy medium, which includes his traditional stops in Cleveland and Detroit, in addition to cherry-picking trips to talent-rich states like Florida and Georgia. After all, the Buckeyes' 2015 trip to South Florida appeared to help in the recruitment of 5-star receiver Trevon Grimes, who 247Sports' Crystal Ball projections currently peg as an Ohio State favorite.

But continuing to follow the now-nationwide Sound Mind Sound Body tour across the country or adopting a June schedule that even remotely mirrors Michigan's? That certainly seems out of the question.

For now, Meyer will continue to weigh the pros and cons, but it already appears he's favoring less instead of more when it comes to satellite camps.

That is, unless a trip to Charlotte to see his buddy is involved.

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. Recruiting and class ratings courtesy of 247Sports' composite ratings.