"Last year, 15 camp attendees are now members of the Utah football team."

Not to be outdone, BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall told The Tribune last week, "If you don't come to a team's camp - and there are exceptions, but in general - you are going to have a very hard time being recruited or being offered [a scholarship] there."

Get the point?

If you have any desire to play for the Utes, Aggies or Cougars - unless you are a rare, blue-chip recruit - you better get yourself to one of their camps.

Camps "have become a very important part of the recruiting process," Whittingham said. "I don't think they are a make-or-break situation, but if you are a young man who wants to get the attention of a school . . . yeah, find a way to get to their camp."

Sure, the coaches make money off their camps, usually a part of their overall coaching contract, but the summer workouts' importance as a recruiting tool are becoming more and more priceless.

"They've evolved into that," Whittingham agreed. "Every school has them."

While the camps at BYU and Utah are mostly designed for individuals, Brent Guy's is a team camp because he has found that style works better for the Aggies and how they recruit. It tends to draw a lot of schools from Nevada, southern Utah and, of course, the Cache Valley, he said.

"We still have 700 kids here," Guy said in between sessions last week. "We will more than likely recruit 7-10 of those kids. Yes, camps [have become] a big part of the recruiting process."

That's even more true this year, because the NCAA passed legislation prohibiting head coaches from visiting high schools during the spring evaluation period, which runs from April 15 to May 31. Coaches have also been stopped from attending talent combines, like the one at Hillcrest High a few weeks ago.

The restrictions mean camps often mark the first time head coaches can see players in action since the prep seasons ended in November.

Utah high schools do not have "spring football" as their counterparts in Texas, Florida, Georgia and other states do, which further limits the exposure Utah preps can get.

Because BYU has only about 15 scholarships to dole out to the class of 2009, Mendenhall said the padded camp that ended Thursday and the non-padded camp that begins June 23 are "more important than ever" for the Cougars.

"We have so many returning missionaries coming back, [so] we have a limited number of scholarships," he said. "Prior to this year, we have had up to 20 commitments before the season even started. This year, we've actually held off on making some decisions, so more kids can come to our camp and we can do a final assessment."

Colleges are not allowed to waive camp fees for the athletes they most want to attend, and those fees are not cheap. BYU's four-day camp costs $315 and Utah's two-day camp costs $150, according to their Web sites. Prices are higher for those who wish to stay overnight in the campus dorms.

The Utah, Utah State and BYU camps are spread out enough that locals can hit all three if they wish. However, top players such as Timpview's Xavier Su'a-Filo, Highland's Latu Heimuli and Cottonwood's John Martinez probably will attend only one or two days at most at each place because they will be traveling around the country to show what they can do at schools such as LSU, USC and UCLA.

"If a young man is traveling to a lot of camps, to get exposure and see what's out there, you can pro-rate a day's [cost] in relation to the four," Mendenhall said. "That's about as good as you can do" to offset the expense.

Whittingham said all coaches invite top recruits to their camps "as an important aspect of recruiting" and generally don't go into them thinking they will discover a hidden gem.

"It is very rare that you will find a kid you did not know about at all," he said. "But you never know."

drew@sltrib.com

Local football camps

For high school-age players:

BYU: June 16-19 (individual camp)

Utah: June 23-24 (individual camp)

Utah State: June 9-12 (team camp)