Penn State football sets 2024 summer camp schedule
Penn State is just over a week out from hosting recruits for spring practice, but that’s not the only thing head coach James Franklin and his recruiting staff are preparing for. On Wednesday afternoon, Blue White Illustrated confirmed the staff’s upcoming camp schedule for June and July, and it’ll feature a few changes compared to previous years.
Penn State’s 2024 Summer Camp Schedule
Saturday, June 1 – Specialist Camp
Sunday, June 2 – Elite Showcase I
Friday, June 7 – Lion Strong 7-on-7 & Big Man Challenge I
Sunday, June 9 – Elite Showcase II
Friday, June 14 – Lion Strong 7-on-7 & Big Man Challenge II
Friday, June 21 – Lion Strong 7-on-7 & Big Man Challenge III
Notable Changes Compared to 2023
7-on-7 tournaments continue to grow, while midweek camps are no more.
In recent years, more and more schools have attempted to host midweek camps in June to free up their coaching staff on the weekends for official visitors. However, for a school that’s as isolated as Penn State, it’s had mixed results. With the majority of the region’s top talent having to travel a few hours to get there, it was always going to be an uphill climb to get the amount of talent they’d like.
The Nittany Lions started multiple midweek camps in 2022 and then dropped it to just one last year. Now, every camp is scheduled for Friday through Sunday.
Link: Five sneaky important players for Penn State this spring
But the other big takeaway is that Penn State will host three 7-on-7 tournaments for the first time. That’s also not a surprise when you look at how camps have trended in recent years. With offers steadily on the rise for high school underclassmen, schools have found it more difficult to attract some the nation’s top freshmen, sophomores and juniors for individual prospect camps.
However, with 7-on-7 being a team event, Penn State has found success convincing the region’s top coaches and programs to attend. The staff is also allowed to privately test top prospects while they’re on campus for 7-on-7 events. It’s resulted in a win-win for everyone.
Two other things of note: 1) there’s one less camp compared to 2023’s schedule and 2) there’s currently nothing scheduled for July. Every Division I school is allowed 10 evaluation days in June and at the end of July, so we’d expect those other dates to be filled at a later date by “mini-camps.” It’s unclear when Penn State will host its annual Whiteout Camp, but that’ll also likely be announced at a later date.
