Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt wanted to make sure the term "prospect" applies to the Panthers one-day football camps for high school players.

True, several players at past summer camps had earned scholarships to Pitt, but the Panthers were not interested in recruiting the majority of those who attended.

That's why the Pitt coaching staff has changed its philosophy on the prospect camps this year. At a time when many college camps are seeing a decline in attendance because of the economy, the Panthers had almost 300 more players attend their June prospect camps this year than last.

The fix was simple. Wannstedt invited 65 to 70 coaches from more than 40 universities -- from the Mid-American Conference, Division I-AA, Division II and Division III schools -- to work with and scout players at the camp. As a result, more high school players had an opportunity to get recruited.

"We'd get 100 or 200 kids here [in camp] and, really, we might only be interested in four or five and maybe one we'd offer a scholarship," Wannstedt said. "That just didn't sit right with me. I thought we could make the experience better for the players and really make the camps something that could help more kids play college football.

"We can only take 15 to 25 kids every year but there are an awful lot of really good football players out there who we'd bring to our camps and I felt like we could do a better job to make the camps something that would be helpful to them and help them get a shot that maybe they wouldn't get otherwise."

That's how Wannstedt came up with the idea to start inviting college coaches from all different levels to come to the camps. This year's prospect camps -- which took place in four one-day sessions June 11, 12, 18 and 19 -- were the most attended of Wannstedt's tenure.

"We had coaches from almost all the Ivy league schools, the Patriot League, the PSAC, the MAC, they all came here and were able to evaluate some players," Wannstedt said. "It is a great thing for the kids and the coaches. I think the thing is, it is up to us as educators to help kids realize their dreams as much as we can. There are a lot of kids out there who, maybe can't quite play [for Pitt], but are certainly good enough to play college football somewhere.

"It was a neat thing to see, kids come here and walk out with their names on the short lists of some schools and some even walking out with actual scholarship offers."

High school players pay $50 to attend a Pitt camp (Penn State has a two-day camp for $180). More than 15 to 20 players at Pitt camps got scholarship offers from MAC schools. Countless others were connected with coaches from schools from all levels, thus beginning the recruitment process.

"The best stories are the ones from the kids like the player who called me to tell me he got a scholarship offer from a coach he talked to when he was here at our camp," said Chris LaSala, Pitt's director of football operations. "We obviously, for competitive reasons, aren't going to have coaches from teams in the Big East or Big Ten here, but we do have almost all of the MAC schools at our camps and have developed a great relationship with most of those coaches, even though we play them."

It may seem strange that Wannstedt and his staff are allowing MAC teams -- frequent game and recruiting foes -- to pursue high school players on Pitt's campus, but Wannstedt said he isn't overly concerned by it.

"The way I see it is if it is a good coach recruiting a kid, he's going to find that kid anyway. And if it isn't a good coach, we could put the kid in his backseat and he still might not get him to go to his school," Wannstedt said. "So, really, all we want to do is provide an atmosphere for kids to come and get as many looks as possible from colleges. And even though only a handful have gotten offers from us here going into their senior year, we believe in our camps."

While money is not the main motivation for camps the coaches do get a portion of the proceeds. Wannstedt said he doesn't take "even a dime" from the camps but instead divides the money among his coaching staff to give them a bonus before they leave for vacation in July.

"Helping out kids and giving back a little bit is really the motivation for those prospect camps -- it isn't about money and that's why we charge the absolute minimum we're allowed according to NCAA guidelines," Wannstedt said. "I feel like we are in a position to help players and it is the right thing to do."

Wannstedt doesn't just put his name on the camps, he participates in them. He makes sure to be there every day and meet every player who participates.

He also forbids his staff members to talk on cell phones during drills and makes sure all of his coaches are engaged with the group they are assigned to coach.

"I wouldn't feel right putting my name on a camp and not being here and not meeting the kids and not making sure people understand I am involved," Wannstedt said. "People work hard for their money and deserve to get what they pay for. Plus, I enjoy it. And here is the other thing -- 60 percent of the guys on our 115-man [Pitt] roster -- came to one of our camps, either as a younger player or a prospect or with their teams."

Devon Martin is a coach of the Brampton Bulldogs, which competes in the youth league (OMFL) in Canada and he is part of a group of coaches who brought nearly 30 athletes to the Panthers individual camp June 13-15.

He said the group started coming to the Pitt camps four years ago and also have a number of kids attending the prospect camps.

"Last year when Pitt played at Buffalo, we had about 25 or 30 of us in the stands from Canada cheering for the Panthers," Martin said. "A few years ago we brought about eight kids down, then the number grew to about 12, then 15 and now the group is at about 30. But the way the camps are run, the fact that Dave is involved and the way the staff really takes time to coach and interact with the kids, that experience for us is priceless."

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