The coronavirus pandemic robbed every single one of us. Many -- far too many -- of life, many more of time, of opportunity. The world effectively went dark for a spring and a summer. Here in our corner of the world, that meant thousands upon thousands of kids did not have the opportunity to attend camps, where over the course of an afternoon a kid can arrive a curiosity and leave with a life-changing scholarship opportunity.
That's all behind us now, and where the summer of 2020 was defined by its scarcity, the summer of 2021 will be defined by abundance. We're all going to be out and about as much as possible. In our corner of the world, that means camps.
If you're a high school football player with dreams of playing at the next level, there will be opportunities for you to be seen.
And thanks to the effort of one high schooler, all the information one needs about camps -- all the camps -- can now be found in one place.
Andrew Morgan made a Google map of each and every FBS camp taking place this summer.
The map links to a spreadsheet to some 375 FBS camps currently on the books, their dates, positions that are invited to attend, the price to attend, and a link to the official camp page on the program's website.
We caught up with Morgan -- and by "caught up with" I mean we traded DMs while the 16-year-old attended class at Boulder Creek High School in Anthem, Ariz. -- about the particular brand of madness that led him to compile this list.
FootballScoop: What inspired you to create this list in the first place?
Morgan: When the NCAA announced that the dead period was coming to an end, my Twitter feed was filled with camp graphics and official visits. I figured the best way for kids to take full advantage of the opportunities was to organize everything and put all the information in one place, so that's what I did. One camp workout can change a kid's life, so I wanted to make sure all the recruits across the country were able to easily access everything they need to plan their summer road trips.
FootballScoop: I know a little bit about burning hours on the Internet and Google sheets. How long did this take you?
Morgan: The whole spreadsheet took me about 12 hours to make, and I plan on adding FCS camps to the list as well. I've even had coaches reach out to add their camps to the list.
FootballScoop: Your Twitter bio says you'd like to work in personnel some day. College or pro? Where do you see yourself in 10 years? What's your dream job?
Morgan: In the future, I'd love to work in personnel, specifically on the college side. I've always loved college football so much, and thanks to my father, who works with Catapult, and previously worked at ASU, I've been able to learn a lot about player evaluation. I've also been blessed to learn from Dan Hatman and The Scouting Academy as their youngest student. My dream job is definitely to be a director of player personnel some day. Hopefully in 10 years, I'll be able to say I've accomplished that dream. Right now, I'm just focused on finishing up school and searching for opportunities to join a staff and get started.
FootballScoop: You've put all these hours into helping your peers visit schools this summer. What plans do you have for college visits? Where would you like to go?
Morgan: I'm a huge Ohio State fan, so working for Mark Pantoni would be such a cool experience, but I'm really interested in any school that's willing to give me a chance to prove myself. I'm not a player, so I don't necessarily expect to be recruited by schools, but I will definitely be taking a few visits. I've been in talks with a few programs, but I'd love to get started early and really make an impact.
FootballScoop: At 16, are you a junior or a sophomore?
Morgan: I'm actually graduating a year early with the 2022 class, so I'm technically a rising senior. In my free time I currently work with Arizona Varsity covering high school sports, play on Boulder Creek's drumline as the captain, and make highlight videos. I actually have a documentary series on a 7v7 team from Arizona out right now.