Temple to hold first of football camps for high schoolers

For Temple coach Matt Rhule, recruiting is as much about relationship-building as it is anything else.

Beginning Sunday in Pittsburgh, at the first of five Matt Rhule Football Camp sessions, Rhule and his staff will be doing just that.

"The camps expose kids to everything, from our coaches to our facilities - everything about Temple," Rhule said. "It gives kids a chance to meet our coaches. If they like them and hit it off, it helps establish a relationship. That makes it a lot easier when that same player is a junior and possibly considering Temple as a place to go to college."

Rhule was an assistant coach on Al Golden's staff when Temple started having one-day football camps seven years ago, a practice that many Division I football programs follow. The camps focus on offensive and defensive drills. Temple's staff will be joined by coaches from Football Championship Subdivision, Division II, and Division III programs.

Temple players won't make the trip to Pittsburgh's Penn Hills High School, site of Sunday's camp. However, Temple players such as quarterback P.J. Walker and center Kyle Friend will work at the subsequent camps. This is the first year the NCAA is allowing football players to work with the campers.

"We're really excited about that," Rhule said.

The Owls originally planned to hold camps in Lehigh Valley, South Jersey, and Delaware County but instead will hold the remaining one-day sessions at Edberg-Olson Hall. Temple recently completed renovations on its practice facility there, including the installation of an artificial-turf field.

Last year the Pittsburgh camp attracted about 220 campers, said Rhule, who anticipates a similar number Sunday.

For information, go to www.coachrhule.com.

@JmitchInquirer