New defensive coordinator Barry Odom had the defense dialed in during the final scrimmage (photo/Mizzou Athletics)

Barry Odom is quickly figuring out his schedule for satellite camps (photo/Mizzou Athletics)

Satellite college football camps…at the end of the day, nothing more than a big waste of time? I discuss the topic with award winning sports broadcasters from Learfield. Mike Grimm is the voice of the Minnesota Golden Gophers and the Minnesota News Network. Kevin McCrarey is the sports director at South Carolina Radio Network.

I credit Jim Harbaugh with really bringing this topic of satellite football camps to the forefront. He took over a once proud Michigan football program that had become somewhat of an afterthought (as Grimm points out, the hiring of Urban Meyer at Ohio State and the surge by Michigan State helped contribute to Michigan’s dip in the Big Ten).  However, Harbaugh got the Wolverines back in the national spotlight while ruffling the feathers of the SEC and ACC.

McCrarey agrees with Harbaugh’s assessment that the SEC and ACC were being selfish trying to ban these camps, but now Georgia will be participating in one soon with Michigan.

How do these camps affect schools like Missouri?  I know I’m going to upset the loyal followers of the program when I say “schools like Missouri”, but I have a realistic view that Mizzou is never going to be mentioned in the same breath as schools like Alabama, Michigan, Ohio State, Oklahoma, etc.  Those are the blue chip schools and they will always lead the recruiting charge.

This has nothing to do with whether or not Mizzou can be successful on the field, we’ve seen success, they’re capable of it, but just not at the next level (i.e. conference titles, BCS Bowls and/or playoffs)

Barry Odom discusses Mizzou’s satellite camp plans and responds to Jim Harbaugh coming into Missouri (Odom on Wednesday’s SEC teleconference)

As I discuss with Mike and Kevin, these camps won’t have a great impact on their schools either in Minnesota and South Carolina.

These satellite camps are comparable to an Easter Egg hunt. There is this big lawn with plastics eggs sprinkled all over the place…you have kids ranging from 3 to 13 years old lined up. The Easter bunny waves his arms and these kids go running all over the place…its mass chaos…there’s so many eggs in the yard nobody really knows where to go. Yet, the 13 year old bullies eventually muscle the  toddlers out of the way and get the biggest eggs and fill up their baskets first. Meanwhile the little ones are left with the scraps.  True, the small kids may find an occasional Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup or a Snickers, but they’re mostly going to end up with Peeps and jelly beans.

That’s how I see these satellite camps. You’re going to have the Barry Odoms and Will Muschamps and Tracy Claeys of the college football world, running all over the country with the Harbaugh’s and the Saban’s (the Easter Egg hunters).  It really doesn’t matter where they go to find these football players (eggs).  More times than not the best end up in the baskets of the bigger schools with the better pedigree while programs like Mizzou end up with the very good 3-star prospects…the leftovers.  I just don’t think it really matters for the University of Missouri if they stay in state and Texas or expand to Georgia, Florida, and Chicago with satellite camps, they’re going to end up with the same type of players they end up with year-after-year.

If Mizzou fan are expecting the Tigers to uncover hidden talent, gems, diamonds in the rough, through these satellite camps…you’re wrong and you’ll be disappointed.