Skip to content
Link copied to clipboard

Camden's football team, and its coach, a hive for recruiting

Coaching high school football is a year-round endeavor, but usually the spring is a time for coaches to take a little bit of a breather.

Coaching high school football is a year-round endeavor, but usually the spring is a time for coaches to take a little bit of a breather.

Try telling that to Dwayne Savage, the head football coach at Camden.

This spring, Savage has been busier than ever, and he's not complaining.

After high school seniors sign letters of intent during the first week in February, college recruiters relentlessly pursue the next class.

So during the spring, college coaches often come to high schools, meet with the coaches, watch film of the prospects and get as much information as possible about the players they are recruiting.

And few in South Jersey are being asked about prospects more than Savage, who says that six of his players already have Division I offers.

The upcoming seniors with offers are defensive end Ron Johnson (6-foot-4, 235 pounds), wide receiver Brad Hawkins (6-1, 200), linebacker Dymelle Parker (6-0, 195), linebacker Demian Thomas (6-1, 195) and defensive end/linebacker Jamal Holloway (6-4, 210).

There is also center Cesar Ruiz (6-4, 292) who just finished his sophomore season and already has 12 offers, according to Savage.

Johnson and Hawkins have a good-natured battle to see who has more offers. The total for each is around 25, but that is an ever-changing number.

Complicating matters is that Savage teaches in Phifer Middle School in Pennsauken and can't meet with college coaches until the afternoon.

If the college coaches want to come before then, a Camden assistant coach who teaches in the building will meet with them.

Either way, a lot of time is spent talking to college coaches.

"This is what you want as a coach," Savage said.

And more than meeting with coaches, Savage often drives his players to visit college campuses in the spring.

"You can't take an official visit until after the first game of your season, and it is kind of unfair for a kid to never have been to your campus and you want them to commit," Savage said. "There should be spring-time official visits."

So anything within around a six to seven hour drive, Savage will take trips with his prospective recruits.

And while Division I recruiting gets most of the attention, many high school coaches spend as much, if not more time, dealing with Division III recruiting. Many Division III recruits don't commit until the spring.

Savage was a former Division III football player at Montclair State so he understands what it's liked to be recruited at that level and the time a coach needs to put in to help his players.

"All this is about giving an opportunity," Savage says. "We stress every day to our players to get to the next level."

That level could be Division I, II or III.

It must be pointed out that there are many South Jersey coaches who are putting in the time to help their players with recruiting. The one difference is that this spring, Savage is likely busier than his counterparts due to all of Camden's prospects.

When school is out next month, Savage will conduct summer workouts, before preseason practice begins in August.

The cycle never ends, yet the tireless coach continues to impressively keep pace.

mnarducci@phillynews.com

@sjnard