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News Roundup: Satellite Camp details, LSU topping more pre-preseason polls

LSU details camp schedule for the summer.

By Billy Gomila
Crystal LoGiudice-USA TODAY Sports

LSU held a quick press conference yesterday to announce some finalized plans for satellite camps to come over the next few months, with seven total camps spread over June and July in Shreveport, New Orleans, Houston and Dallas, including the usual kicking, seven-on-seven/linemen and high school camps to be held on campus.

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These camps will include youth camps for elementary/middle-school aged kids on June 5 in Baton rouge and June 7 in New Orleans, in conjunction with the New Orleans Recreation Department. More information and registration is available here.

Miles also re-iterated that he was eager to work with the other in-state schools, save for Tulane, which is still set to host a camp with Texas A&M.

"First of all, philosophically, we want to be in Louisiana first," Miles said. "We want to make sure that the places that we turn to are people that play on our teams first. We will end and start our camps in Shreveport, New Orleans and certainly Baton Rouge. We are also going to partner with in-state colleges who are willing to participate, including Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, Louisiana Tech, McNeese State, Southeastern, Southern, Grambling, Nicholls State, Northwestern State and Louisiana College.

It's interesting to see Miles enact a defense-first strategy to this whole endeavor -- whereas other schools are looking to spread their influence more into talent centers like Atlanta, Detroit, Florida, etc..., Miles is taking the opportunity to try and shore up his own base and try and keep out the rest of the conference.

As I've mentioned before, I think that's probably the right approach. The thought of Alabama, Florida, etc... setting up camps in places like New Orleans, Lafayette, Monroe or even a power program like Dutchtown near to Baton Rouge was always one of the larger threats in the whole satellite camp debate. Schools like Michigan or Ohio State aren't likely to land a kid at a camp that wasn't already looking to leave the state.

Miles also mentioned that he thinks this legislation will inevitably lead to an increase in official coaching staff limits.

"What you've done is added man hours to your calendar. You're going to be on the road for satellite camps. You're going to text a little more significantly," he said. "I think there's a need for 10 (staff members)."

With special exceptions, such as when schools are short-handed, the only representatives of a program allowed to recruit off campus are the nine members of a coaching staff. All the assorted analysts, consultants, personnel directors, assistant strength & conditioning coaches, etc..., can only interact with prospects when they're on campus. It stands to reason that making some sort of change will be coming to allow for assorted members of a program to work off campus, in addition to actual coaches.

In some other news, let the 2016 hype train continue:

That would be Leonard Fournette on the cover of the ESPN The Magazine college football preview. The Tigers project as the top team in the World Wide Leader's FPI Poll. Nobody's quite sure how they calculate FPI exactly, but there it is.

Likewise, Bruce Feldman of Fox has LSU at No. 2 behind Clemson, while CBS's Dennis Dodd puts the Tigers third -- right behind Alabama, of course. Athlon checks in with LSU at No. 9.

And speaking of ESPN, they issued this press release regarding the blockbuster opening weekend to the coming season, which will feature this slate on the ESPN/ABC family of networks:

Saturday, Sept. 5:

  • No. 5 Oklahoma vs. No. 18 Houston (noon ET on ABC)
  • Hawaii at No. 3 Michigan (noon on ESPN) f
  • No. 6 LSU vs. Wisconsin (3:30 p.m. on ABC)
  • No. 13 Georgia vs. No. 19 North Carolina (5:30 p.m. on ESPN)
  • No. 12 USC vs. No. 1 Alabama (8 p.m. on ABC)
  • No. 2 Clemson at Auburn (9 p.m. on ESPN)
  • Sunday, Sept. 4 -€” No. 9 Notre Dame at Texas (7:30 p.m. on ABC)
  • Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 5 -€” No. 14 Ole Miss vs. No. 4 Florida State (8 p.m. on ESPN)

That of course, revealed that the LSU-WIsconsin/Lambeau Field matchup will air at 2:30 p.m. Central, the Tigers first appearance on ABC since the 2014 Outback Bowl. I'm sure we're all a little less than enthused with the prospect of an early kick (and many are still not over the neutral site -- personally, Lambeau kind of cuts the disappointment a little for me), but in a situation like this, it does make for a nice full day of football watching.