Camps help Muschamp measure 4 critical factors in a prospect

The NCAA recruiting calendar says the spring evaluation period is over, but the evaluating is far from finished for Will Muschamp and his staff.

The just-concluded evaluation period allowed South Carolina’s assistant coaches to go to a prospect’s school and gauge such qualities as character and transcripts. Now the action comes to USC in a series of on-campus camps.

Hundreds will participate, with many of those from the 2018, 2019 and 2020 classes getting a closer look from USC coaches. The camp setting helps measure four critical factors that are important to Muschamp:

▪  work ethic

▪  athleticism

▪  coachability

▪  football intelligence

“When you’re able to find those four things out, you find a lot out a player,” Muschamp said. “It does nothing but help you eliminate mistakes in the recruiting process.”

Camp season kicks off Saturday at the Gamecocks’ practice fields, with 10 days geared toward high-school athletes. Most of the schedule falls in June, with a single camp day in July.

Twenty-two of the Gamecocks’ 24 signees for 2017 were seen in one of USC’s camps, a fact Muschamp touts to show the importance of working out a young man in person.

“There’s no doubt this is a huge part of what we do,” Muschamp said.

This story was originally published June 1, 2017 at 11:26 AM with the headline "Camps help Muschamp measure 4 critical factors in a prospect."