Have you heard the one about the SEC coaches being upset at a former comrade because of his latest recruiting technique? Because those same coaches probably aren't too pleased with a certain independent school from South Bend, Ind., either.
Penn State coach James Franklin, formerly of Vanderbilt, will guest coach next week at a Georgia State camp. So long as the visiting coach isn't running the camp, this is permissible by NCAA guidelines, which bars programs from running prep camps more than 50 miles from campus. The SEC, however, does not allow its coaches to work at camps more than 50 miles from their campuses.
As you can imagine, SEC coaches are crying foul. And in doing so, they are hilarious, as my colleague Adam Rittenberg brilliantly described in a column last week.
News surfaced shortly afterward that Notre Dame was planning to do the same thing next summer at Georgia State, with Panthers coach and former Fighting Irish assistant Trent Miles telling the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the decision was mutual.
“It’s great for us getting the exposure and getting some kids on our campus that Notre Dame will bring because of their name," Miles told the AJC. "I think it will be great for Notre Dame because they have a national presence, and I’m very close to those guys.”
The move makes plenty of sense from Notre Dame's standpoint. The Irish have made no secret about their recruiting desires in the Peach State, having hauled in recent NFL draftees like Stephon Tuitt and TJ Jones from there. Their ACC deal will already give them more exposure in the region and a potential upcoming series with Georgia would only add to that.
Notre Dame's staff also gets the chance to work closely with a bunch of local and regional talent, who won't have to worry about travel and the finances that accompany it.
“I’m hearing that the SEC isn’t really happy but I’m worried about us at Georgia State,” Miles said with a chuckle, according to the AJC. “I’m only concerned about Georgia State, and I have close ties to Notre Dame. If I can do something to help Notre Dame, I will.”
This isn't all entirely new or exclusive to Franklin, Miles and Brian Kelly. Look around the national landscape: Oklahoma State and New Mexico are working camps this summer in Texas. BYU, another independent, is heading West near Los Angeles to guest-coach a camp at the University of Redlands, with coach Bronco Mendenhall tweeting: "Show your skills in front of our coaches in Southern California!"
So long as the rules allow it, satellite camps are no-brainers for programs looking to cast wider nets. Few cast them wider than Notre Dame.