Big Weekends With Camps & OVs Are Old Hat To UNC's Staff
The fast-and-furious period for college football recruiting is underway this week, as North Carolina opens its camp season in Chapel Hill at the same time the program welcomes five official visitors by prospects in the class of 2023.
First, the official visits begin Friday and conclude Sunday morning. The overlap occurs Saturday, which is when Carolina’s camps commence. Both weekend sessions run from noon until five.
In the meantime, 4-star offensive tackle Luke Burgess, 4-star defensive end Desmond Umeozulu, 3-star defensive end Jaybron Harvey, 3-star cornerback Kaleb Cost, 3-star athlete Kaveion Keys, 3-star linebacker Caleb Lavallee, and 3-star linebacker Jeremiah Telander will be in the midst of their official visits. Three-star cornerback Cameren Fleming was suppsoed to take his OV this weekend, but has moved it to another date.
Considering UNC’s coaches take part in the camps as well as the OVs, there is quite a bit of juggling to work through, but they are used to it, says UNC general manager Patrick Suddes, who is the program’s point man in recruiting.
“Coaches are always used to multitasking,” he told THI. Hence, it isn’t a big deal to them. It’s old hat.
Still, this remains a challenge, especially compared to the scenarios for when kids visit on weekends in which no camps are held. But Suddes says the prospects won’t miss out on anything.
“Everyone will get the attention they need,” he said, though the prospects cannot take part in the camp in any form. “No OVs won’t have involvement with camp.”
The real challenge is only on Saturday. Camps are held at the Koman Practice Complex, so the recruits cannot check that out during the camp period range, but the middle of the afternoon is a period in which they can meet with the academic people, learn more about a football player’s life on campus, and get a gauge on the full experience of going to school at UNC.
And while there is another camp session Sunday, the prospects on their official visits, who are accompanied usually by their parents, will have moved on from Chapel Hill, as the OVs formally end that morning.
“The itinerary for OVs and camps don’t overlap,” Suddes said, “especially Sunday because OVs will be gone by then.”
So, this is a huge weekend for UNC football, from a camp and official visit perspective. And, the Carolina baseball team is hosting an NCAA Tournament regional, which further complicates matters perhaps from a slight logistics standpoint.
Carolina's staff has been through this many times before, so as hectic as it may appear on the surface, they will have things fully under control.