FORT WORTH, Texas -- On June 1, Jalen Mayden and his mother sat down at the kitchen table and mapped out their summer.
Jalen, a coveted 2018 quarterback from Sachse, Texas, came up with a long list of schools he wanted to see and coaches he wanted to impress. Katrina Mayden-Salles, a teacher, came up with the grand plan.
“We have a book and a calendar, it’s all written out,” she said. “But it’s all in my head, too, because that’s our summer bible.”
Her son already has early offers from Ohio State, Mississippi State, Houston, Louisville and six other FBS programs. And while seemingly every major program is trying to set up shop in their DFW backyard during this out-of-control explosion of summer satellite camps, this family has been eager to hit the road.
They’re definitely taking advantage of the trend: traveling by car and air, the Maydens just attended 12 camps or visits in a span of 14 days.
“Yeah, it’s been pretty crazy,” Jalen said.
The updated itinerary of all the trips they’ve already completed:
June 4: TCU Saturday Night Lights camp
June 6: Michigan camp in Baltimore
June 7: Sound Mind Sound Body camp in Houston
June 8: Virginia Tech satellite camp in Atlanta and a visit to Auburn
June 10: Georgia camp
June 11: Clemson visit
June 12: Rivals Underclassmen Challenge in Atlanta
June 13: Alabama workout and Mississippi State camp
June 14: LSU satellite camp in Houston
June 17: Texas satellite camp in Dallas
And they’re not even close to being done. Mayden heads to Florida this week for the IMG Nationals 7-on-7 tournament and Cam Newton QB Skills Challenge. Mom says they’ll try to visit or camp at seven more schools -- Auburn, LSU, Ohio State, Clemson, Louisville, Utah and USF -- in July.
Sounds like too much, right? Not for Jalen. The Mayden family has already gone through this recruiting process twice before. James Mayden is playing wide receiver at Rice. Jared Mayden, an ESPN 300 cornerback recruit, just enrolled at Alabama. Both benefitted from these packed summer camp schedules.
All of this is expensive, of course. But a mother of two FBS football players understands the value of a college scholarship.
“We save all year to make sure that during this time we can do this and it doesn’t hurt the household,” Mayden-Salles said.
Her son is still trying to figure out which coaches and offenses fit him best. The 6-foot-2, 208-pound lefty said he has no favorite schools at this point. His recruitment is still very much in the exploratory phase. If Jalen hopes to make a decision by next spring like most quarterbacks do, he needs to do his research now.
“He really needs to work with those coaches and see if they like each other’s vocabulary and working with each other,” Mayden-Salles said. “That’s important. Everything has to feel comfortable. I believe you can be educated at any school as long as you want to be educated. You’ve just got to make sure the right resources are in place. And that’s pretty much how our schedule got set.”
Thanks to the satellite camp movement, a $40 camp fee now gets you in front of a lot of coaches. Mayden has been able to bring his cousins, 2018 receiver Drue Jackson and 2020 running back Myles Nash, along on these trips, too. Together, they’re trying to maximize their opportunities.
So you can imagine how his mother reacted during that brief period in April when satellite camps were banned.
“I was horrified. I was disgusted,” she said. “I was praying somebody would see reason.”
To ensure her son thrives during the ambitious slate of camps and visits, Mayden-Salles thought a few steps ahead. Jalen has to take care of his body and stay fresh. She picks hotels with fitness rooms and a fitness trainer has been traveling with them. Jalen gets massages regularly. He’s even embracing yoga.
“Incorporating yoga helps them block out the noise and stay focused on their goals,” she said. “There’s always a yoga place in the area and we call ahead and make appointments. Have to do it.”
Mom knows this investment will pay off in the end, because it has twice before. And she believes you can’t put a price on the benefits of all the reps and all the exposure. The way she sees it, if you want to be considered an elite recruit, you better go compete with elite recruits.
“All of these national kids are not national because they want to camp at their school,” Mayden-Salles said. “They have to get out there. They have to be seen. And they have to train.”