Coach Connell Maynor of Winston-Salem State receives emails, YouTube clips and phone calls about possible football recruits on a regular basis.
Sorting it all out can be daunting, so Maynor and his staff held WSSU's first "prospects camp" on Thursday at Bowman Gray Stadium. Division I programs have long held the camps during the summer, but they're rare for Division II programs.
"I'm not aware of any of the CIAA schools that do this," Maynor said.
About 30 high school players attended the one-day camp, paying $25 each to be evaluated by WSSU coaches and to receive advice on parts of their games on which they might need to work.
Under NCAA rules, Maynor and his coaches can't comment to the media about players who attended the camp. For him and his staff, the hope is that seeing current high school players will help in future recruiting. The camp is limited to players with eligibility remaining at North Carolina high schools.
Maynor, in his second season at WSSU, said he thought the first camp would draw 12 to 15 players.
Two more camps will be offered in July.
"I'm very pleased that we've got around 30 guys here," he said.
Maynor addressed the prospects before the workouts started, telling them what he expected.
"This isn't for show," he said, "this is so we can find football players."
He told the players that the Rams were 8-2 last season and just nine points from being undefeated, adding: "We were just a couple of players away from being undefeated, so this camp is about finding those players that can help us.
"I'm here to win football games, and if we don't win, I get fired, so we're all about finding the best players that can help us win football games."
Cornerback Michael Walker, a rising senior at North Forsyth, wanted to see how he stacked up against others in camp. He called it a learning experience and said he hopes to use the lessons in his final season at North.
"I wanted to see what the coaches here at Winston-Salem State think, and it's a way to get a little more exposure," Walker said.
Maynor also saw the camp as a way to expose WSSU and its program to players. Many of those who attended saw Bowman Gray Stadium and the WSSU facilities for the first time.
"I had not been over here before. It's nice," said Chris Register, a 6-foot-4, 198-pound rising sophomore tight end from Greensboro Dudley. "My coaches thought it would be good to come over and see what this prospect camp was all about."
Players were measured for height and weight, then tested in the bench press, standing broad jump and 40-yard dash. They later hit the field for 7-on-7 drills.
Josh Young, a 6-2, 190-pound linebacker from Southern Vance High, said he also attended a Wake Forest prospects camp earlier this month.
"I'm searching for a college," said Young, a rising senior. "And I'm just trying to get noticed a little bit, and going to these kinds of camps can be a benefit."
Quarterback Jashawn Joyner of Reagan (6-2, 175 pounds) attended his first camp.
"I think it will be a good experience…," said Joyner, a rising junior. "To see other players come from other parts of the state and see what everybody can do will hopefully help me in my development."
Maynor said it was great to see so many eager players attend the camp.
"We can't evaluate every film clip that we get or watch every YouTube email we get," Maynor said. "But the guys that are hungry and really want to play football are going to come to these camps like this to show us coaches they can play. The guys that really can't play or are lazy — they aren't going to come to something like this."
Maynor, a former quarterback at Winston-Salem State and N.C. A&T, wasn't highly recruited in high school but remembers the chance he was given.
"I was one of the last people Coach (Bill) Hayes signed, so I want to always give a kid an opportunity or a chance, and that's one of the reasons we wanted to hold these prospects camps," Maynor said. "It's a way to make a little money, and it's a chance to find those diamonds in the rough."
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