Kentucky Football Camp FAQs

Over the last two weeks Kentucky Sports Radio dot com has been flooded with content from camps hosted by the Kentucky football program at Kroger Field and the Joe Craft Football Training Facility. Upon returning home from my third day at Kentucky football camp, my wife asked, “What do they even do there?”

It’s a fair question, one I’m sure many of our readers and listeners are asking as well. Even though there is only one more on the docket this summer, allow me to share the odds and ins of an important part of the recruiting process for the UK football program.

Who attends Kentucky football camp?

1. Joe High School Football Player

Contrary to popular belief, an overwhelming majority of the players at these camps, particularly the one-day camps on weekday afternoons, are athletes that will end their careers playing high school varsity football.

2. Regional Recruits

In-state prospects have been the biggest draws, most notably Tommy Ziesmer and Malachi Wood, a pair of UK commitments. Lexington is a day trip away for athletes from Middle Tennessee and Ohio, regularly drawing power five prospects from Youngstown to Chattanooga.

3. Traveling AAU teams

They don’t carry the same name tag as their basketball counterparts, but for all intents and purposes, these elite 7-on-7 teams are traveling AAU teams. The coaches will load up vans and bounce around all over the country, hitting as many as a dozen different college football campuses in two weeks to maximize each individual’s exposure.

Why does someone attend Kentucky football camp?

1. Get Better

The one-day camps only cost $40 for about three hours’ work. That’s a deal for SEC-level individual instruction. The devil is in the details. Kentucky football coaches can share expertise you will not always find at the high school level. It’s most valuable for improving footwork in the passing game and hand placement in the trenches. The lessons learned from the nuances taught on a daily basis at UK can help an average player take their game to the next level.

2. Earn a Scholarship Offer

Most of the players attending Kentucky football camp are underclassmen. An excellent day could earn them a scholarship offer from the Wildcats. For some, an elite 40-yard dash could do the trick. Other times, the prospect is on the coaches’ radar after putting out high quality film. Camps are the only opportunity for college football coaches to evaluate that individual in-person. Some players do not pass muster for a variety of reasons, while others do enough to earn a scholarship. In the case of PRP’s Jakob Dixon, the 6-foot-4 wide receiver was asked to return for further evaluation after posting a 4.5 40-yard dash. If all goes well tomorrow, UK may be ready to pull the trigger and offer him a scholarship.

3. Develop a Relationship with the Position Coach

Tommy Ziesmer and Malachi Wood did not need to camp with Kentucky this summer, but it’s their only opportunity to be coached in a one-on-one setting with Anwar Stewart and Zach Yenser, respectively, prior to their arrival on Kentucky’s campus next year. For nearby high profile prospects, attending at least one camp is a no-brainer. Ziesmer returned a week later just to hang out with his new position coach and prospective teammates.

The case of Arvell Reese is a little more unusual. For the lack of a better term, typically top 200 prospects are “too good” to camp. Why bother if you don’t need to? Reese’s attendance and participation in Sunday night’s camp shows how eager he is to learn from Brad White and proves the Cats are a legit contender for a recruit many believe is Ohio State’s to lose.

What happens at Kentucky football camp?

The program starts with combine testing. Players receive state of the art wristbands that track their speed and asses their performance in each drill, giving coaches results before the players leave Lexington. Following the testing portion, players break out into position groups for individual instruction. The action reaches a crescendo in “one-on-ones.” Pass-rushers go head to head with offensive linemen, while wide receivers and cornerbacks duel on the other end of the field. This is where the best of the best separate themselves from the rest of the pack.

What do you look for at Kentucky football camp?

Some players are obviously Power Five talents. Defenders could not touch 2024 WR/DB Boo Carter. He has All-SEC potential and it’s plain to see. It’s not always that clear who can make it at the Power Five level. The nuances vary from one position to another.

Youngstown edge Brian Robinson had the height and weight, but most importantly, the wingspan of an edge rusher. Similarly, Malachi Wood has desirable length at offensive tackle. Others simply test well enough to validate their explosiveness in a game-like setting. Exceptional numbers are a big reason why Frederick Douglass’ IOL Demeco Kennedy received a scholarship offer.

In this humble blogger’s opinion, quarterback is the most difficult position to evaluate. A passer’s accuracy may be off simply because they do not have experience with the wide receiver, throwing off the timing of routes. You can still judge arm strength and some of the mechanics, but the line between between P5 and G5 QBs is blurry.

The easiest way to tell who is good: Follow the coaches. Whoever they’re spending time with and instructing the camera guys to tail is who they believe is the best of the best.

Kentucky Football Camp Oddities

Campers receive t-shirts. The wise ones will wear something a little different to stand out. On Monday one player did something I’ve never seen before: Devin Bell wore a customized t-shirt with his name, high school and position in big letters. No one was asking, “Who’s that kid?” after watching him complete a rep. Stetson Bennett famously wore a US Postal Service cap at camps to stand out among the crowd. Aneyas Williams donned a crop top and sunglasses in non-contact portions of the drills.

Kentucky Football Camp fashion at its finest.

Marrow with Aneyas Williams pic.twitter.com/ybPR8ssDR4

— Justin Rowland (@RowlandRIVALS) June 13, 2022

At Kentucky football camp you’ll also spot plenty of current players hanging out with the prospective campers. They often join Vince Marrow on his souped up golf cart, until it’s time for the Big Dog to show the best campers a brief tour around the south side of campus.

“He told me that if you get on this golf cart, that means you’re really valuable and you’ll be really good,” 2025 ATH Amaree Williams told KSR.