College Recruiting: Scouting middle schoolers

Sports

Photos of Atlanta-area middle school football players from Woodward Academy participating in Football University college recruiting camps, 2008.

Woodward Academy / FBU players Kyle Hawkins, Austin Roark, and Ryan Dillard (front, left to right) and fathers Greg Hawkins and Rob Roark (second row, left to right) are all proponents of middle school scouting and combines. Austin and Kyle played at the Football University Eighth Grade All American Bowl, held recently in San Antonio, and Ryan will participate in the Football University junior combine in 2010 as a sophomore.

Middle schoolers take part in the New Jersey-based Football University. Football University is a company evaluating middle school footballers, which some argue has taken college recruiting to a level where it doesn't need to be.

Woodward Academy's Ryan Dillard, 14, shows off his running skills during NFL Detroit Lions and former Georgia Tech star wide receiver Calvin Johnson Jr.'s 2008 Wide Receiver Camp in Tyrone, Ga. Dillard's father, Oscar, is a former high school coach who runs his own football academy and charges $50 per session and $250 for three-day camps.

Football U. is pricey: In June, New Jersey-based FBU will hold a camp/combine in Henry County for middle school-aged players costing $549. Later in the summer, a select few will be highlighted on the FBU Web site and invited to participate in a national all-star game at San Antonio in the Alamodome. Players and parents who are selected have to pay for their own transportation and lodging.

Woodward/FBU player Kyle Hawkins' dad, Greg, says he's had to fend off jabs from friends and acquaintances, who say this sort of thing is too much, too soon. "I look at it like this," he says. "This is no different than noticing that your child has a special talent in math or science and getting him or her a tutor to help them compete in a math or science competition, or a spelling bee. The way I see it, this is like an AP-level or honors-level course in football."

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Woodward Academy / FBU players Kyle Hawkins, Austin Roark, and Ryan Dillard (front, left to right) and fathers Greg Hawkins and Rob Roark (second row, left to right) are all proponents of middle school scouting and combines. Austin and Kyle played at the Football University Eighth Grade All American Bowl, held recently in San Antonio, and Ryan will participate in the Football University junior combine in 2010 as a sophomore.

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