The Sound Mind Sound Body football camp in Macomb, Michigan was another huge success for high school football in the Detroit area. Over 1,000 players were in attendance over the last two days and had the chance to be coached by some of the best coaches in the country, including Jim Harbaugh, Urban Meyer, Mark Dantonio and more.
Here are a few of my quick takeaways from the event:
- The narrative that Harbaugh does not like to recruit was dead a long time ago, but what I saw with my own two eyes today further backs up the fact that he is in it for the long haul. Everywhere he went today, players and cameras followed and he was an absolute rock star. Shortly before the event came to a close, he was heard yelling in the hallways of Dakota High School telling recruits to take their seats before he made his final address. The man knows how to work a crowd and get a response.
- Speaking of Harbaugh, we had our first public encounter between him and Ohio State head coach. Urban Meyer. The meeting was brief, and yes, it was awkward.
The First Public Encounter: #Michigan's Jim Harbaugh and #OhioState's Urban Meyer http://t.co/wM2rqLL1U7 pic.twitter.com/kN9jqQ1fvR
— Anthony Broome (@anthonytbroome) June 12, 2015
- The above photo was taken just before the SMSB press conference, which featured Harbaugh, Meyer, Dantonio, James Franklin and Jerry Kill. Naturally, the first three guys were the focus of the session. Not to overstate, but there was quite a bit of tension in the room with them seated mere feet away from each other. It got a bit awkward at times.
Presser about to begin here. #SMSB pic.twitter.com/KcIwY8qlbi
— Anthony Broome (@anthonytbroome) June 12, 2015
Dantonio on Harbaugh calling MSU the big kid on the block (in true Dantonio fashion): "Well, that was awful nice of him."
— Anthony Broome (@anthonytbroome) June 12, 2015
- On the field, one of the more notable performances at the camp came from 2019 quarterback Sam Johnson (Southfield, Michigan). He is going to be a freshman this fall, but displayed a strong arm and good accuracy, resulting in winning a passing drill run by Michigan's Jedd Fisch. We had the chance to speak with him briefly, where he said he plans on "winning it all" this season, including the starting spot at QB and a state championship with Southfield HS.
- Four-star 2016 wide receiver Donnie Corley (Wyandotte, Michigan) told us that he does not have any plans for official visits this fall, but that Michigan State and Tennessee are two schools he definitely wants to see. I would imagine Michigan will be in that group, as well, but they have a lot of catching up to do. He has been in contact with Fisch.
- We also spoke to Detroit Cass Tech head coach Thomas Wilcher about the camp and if there is enough room in the pipeline for the big three of Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State, to which he replied, "there is a school for everyone." He also that recent Wolverine OL commit Michael Onwenu is great because he is always trying to be the best player on the field.
- Fullback commit David Reese (Farmington, Michigan) said that he is still working on flipping teammate Desmond Fitzpatrick from Louisville to Michigan, as well as recruiting defensive end Khalid Kareem. He is also planning on visiting Ann Arbor on Tuesday.