Al Golden Football Camp Wrap-up

Last Sunday, Coach Golden held the first of a few camps he has put together for future players and their families and coaches. They descend upon Coral Gables and spend a day talking with coaches, training with them, and learning what it means to be a Cane. Some guys use the camp to gain valuable insight on what it means to be a college football player. Others show up to try and get an offer from Miami, or show them what they can do. The camp on Sunday has over 400 kids show up, which is actually pretty amazing considering it was just the first one.

So did any offers or new recruiting leads come out of the first session? Hit the jump to find out!

As it turns out, the camp was highly successful, and more than a few kids came away really wanting to be a part of what Golden is building. Even current commits were there learning, even if they weren't participating. For example, take current commit Keith Bryant. While he didn't participate in any of the drills, he said that he learned a new move from defensive coach D'Onofrio that he plans on adding to his repertoire. He also talked about the questions surrounding his commitment, and said that it was "pretty solid" and that while he plans to take other visits, he is not one hundred percent sure he will.

The overall camp MVP award went to WR/DB Brisly Estime out of Delray Beach. He is friends with Keith Bryant, who said that he will mention going to Miami to Estime, but that he wants to be a Cane anyway. He expressed that being close to home is a big thing for him, and that he feels Miami is for him. He is currently a 3 star prospect according to Rivals, and he thinks the coaches would be looking at him to be a slot receiver over a DB.

The Canes could possibly add yet another legacy in Cypress Bay LB Nico Marley. His father is Rohan Marley, a former Cane, and of course they are related to that Marley. Currently, Rivals has him listed as a 2 star LB recruit, but he came away from the camp with LB MVP honors, and he says that coach Barrow has been talking to him a lot. If he is offered, it is basically a lock for him to go to Miami.

The camp WR MVP award went to Ridge View wide out Tre'Von Howell, an un-ranked prospect (Rivals). The coaches told him that he has great speed and hands, but that they would like to see him work on coming off the ball. He is currently reporting that he only has one minor offer, but that he really hopes Miami sends him one, and also that he should be getting more as he attends more camps. If the Canes do extend an offer to him, he says that he will most likely wind up in Coral Gables.

A couple of local DB's attended the camp and stood out from the rest. Miami Carol City DB Simeon Thomas and North Miami DB Troy McCollum both said they came to camp to show what they could do, and to get an offer. Both worked with coaches Williams and McDonald, and both were told that the coaches would be meeting to discuss potential offers. Both Simeon and Troy are being a bit more vague with their recruiting than others, saying that if Miami offers they would be in their top schools, but that they aren't deciding anytime soon.

As you can see, these camps appear to be a great recruiting and PR tool for Golden and the program. With at least 3 of these camps planned, for 400 to show up at the first one says a lot about how these kids view Golden and what he can teach them. They are a great way to get the Miami brand out there and show the direction the football team is going. Let's hope this success keeps up, because the more that kids start getting interested in Miami, the sooner we get back to being a major recruiting player, which of course would lead to a great football product.

GO CANES!