Kansas State football coach Bill Snyder laments loss of in-state satellite camps

Bill Snyder understands why the NCAA passed legislation to eliminate college football teams from holding satellite camps. He even agrees with the spirit of the new rules.

Still, he would tweak them if he could.

“Our satellite camps, for the most part, were in the state of Kansas,” Snyder said Tuesday at a news conference, “trying to get out to western Kansas, because western Kansas youngsters sometimes just cant’ get here. We did them in Kansas City, we did them in Wichita. We were in-state. I would prefer the rule still allow you to do that.”

Snyder and his coaching staff have discovered countless players at nearby satellite camps over the years. Former defensive end Ryan Mueller and current receiver Denzel Goolsby, for example, may have attended other schools had they not attended K-State’s satellite camps.

The camps gave overlooked recruits an opportunity to prove themselves.

“I know a few guys on our team who did the satellite camps in the Wichita area,” senior linebacker Will Davis said. “It seems like that is where our coaches find a lot of players. I think a lot of guys, especially from farther away distances in the state of Kansas, really benefited from it.”

Davis earned a scholarship from K-State a more traditional way. Growing up in Southlake, Texas, where they hold spring practices, K-State assistants watched him play at his high school and invited him to a future camp in Manhattan. He attended, returned for an official visit and eventually committed.

“It was more me traveling this way than them traveling my way,” Davis said. “They didn’t really have any camps around the Dallas area.”

K-State had no plans to start any the way Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh hosted camps in seven states last year. Snyder said the last thing he wants to do is ask assistants to cut their vacations short and travel to Florida for a satellite camp, simply to keep pace with rival recruiters.

Perhaps that is why he uses a mellow tone when discussing the topic.

“I have mixed emotions about it,” Snyder said. “You like to get out and have the opportunity to be with young guys, but, by the same token, it can get out of hand.”

Snyder wishes K-State could continue to hold camps across the Sunflower State, but he is prepared to put in the work necessary to invite more recruits to on-campus camps.

“The rule now is everything has to be on your campus,” Snyder said. “I can live with it. That’s fine. I think it serves the purpose of not opening the thing up so you have 1,000 camps across the country. That is probably a problem as well.”

This story was originally published April 12, 2016 at 3:50 PM with the headline "Kansas State football coach Bill Snyder laments loss of in-state satellite camps."