Should I expect 7-on-7 football camps help raise my stock in the eyes of college coaches during the football recruiting process?

I recently had a chance to speak with a senior to be athlete about how the football recruiting process was going for them.  This player did have a decent amount of interest and attention from college coaches in his region so it was not like no schools were after him.

What stood out to me was when I asked him if he was going to go to any camps this summer.  With the interest he was receiving, I had safely assumed that he would be going to a few schools to be evaluated.  He said he was going but they were 7-on-7 college camps.  Is that a good move?  Should I really rely on 7-on-7 college camps to get evaluated?

First off, let me stress that I keep saying 7-on-7 college camps.  I am not talking about some random independent camp that doesn’t mean anything.  If a 7-on-7 is hosted by the actual college, then their coaches will be working the camp and can watch the athletes in action.  Again, the college has to host it and be a part of it.  If Ohio State is holding a 7-on-7 camp, the title must be Ohio State’s 7-on-7, not 7-on-7 held at Ohio State.  There is a big difference.

First, let me say that I do know of an athlete receiving a scholarship offer from a Division I-A (BCS) program after their 7-on-7 camp.  But this was not the only camp that this athlete had attended at their program.  The player had a brother already on scholarship at the school and he had spent the previous week at their padded camp.  The coaches were very familiar with him and saw enough at the 7-on-7 to extend the offer.

Regardless of that story, I think it is a mistake to just assume that 7-on-7 camps across the country will be enough to jump start the football recruiting process.  While the coaches at the school may evaluate athletes throughout the course of the weekend camp, it is not something you want to count on.  After having a busy week of padded camp and evaluating prospective recruits, the main assistant coaches may be taking the weekend off and the graduate assistants may be doing all the work throughout the 7-on-7.  That is not going to cut it overall.

My opinion is that you need to use your 7-on-7 camps to work on skills overall with your team.  It should not be something that you lean heavily on to help jumpstart your recruiting.  It is worth it to pay a little more money and attend at least one day of their padded camp.  Not only will you get a chance to showcase your skills in front of the coaches at that college, you will also have a chance to be evaluated by other college coaches who are working that camp.  It may be a Division I-A (BCS) camp but there could be Division I-AA (FCS), Division II, and Division III coaches all there.

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