Mike Riley: "There shouldn't be an uproar about satellite camps if it's really about the kids"
Nebraska head coach Mike Riley and his staff spent a few days this week down in Florida working at Florida A&M's satellite camp, surrounded by some of the top prospects in the state, and many of the top targets on SEC recruiting boards.
At least for now, Riley and his Big Ten colleagues can raid the south to work these satellite camps and evaluate talent, while SEC coaches are blocked from working satellite camps. It's been the most popular storyline of the off season, but all that will probably change with a rule change for next summer allowing all coaches the same satellite camp liberties,. But as things sit now, Riley is one of a number of coaches who see no problem with the current rules.
In the eyes of the new leader of the Cornhuskers, if we all really have the best interest of the kids in mind, there really shouldn't be any whining about coaches leaving their campus to work satellite camps.
"I don't even know why there is such an uproar about the travel camps or the so-called satellite camps," Riley told HuskerOnline earlier this week according to Rivals. "Really all it is is opportunity for kids. It's kids that maybe get a new door opened up because of a chance to work with some coaches in a different part of the country. There's nothing wrong with that.
"Everybody kind of comes at it from their own angle. If you are in an area that's fairly heavily populated or with lots of possible scholarship players in your state, then generally like the SEC or schools in Texas or South California, they don't have a need for it. So if they were to have vote, they'd vote against it. The way I see it, nobody should really worry about it, because it's just about the opportunity for the kids."
"It might open a door for a kid that really never would've had a chance before. "There are guys that come out of the wood work at these camps that aren't on all the lists. The camp really helps them." Riley added.
"I know everybody has what they think is ownership, but there really is no border in recruiting. Nobody has really ever talked about that. Kids have gone to school all over the country for years and years and years. If they're looking for an opportunity and you are looking for an opportunity, I'm not sure there's anything wrong with that."
