Holtz: LA Tech sees benefits from LSU-partnered, 'Louisiana only' satellite camps

RUSTON – The rain may have washed out the opportunity for the Louisiana Tech coaching staff to watch potential recruits compete at a partnered camp with LSU at Joe Aillet Stadium Sunday afternoon, but it didn’t wipe out the sentiment of the “Protect the Boot” satellite summer camps.

This offseason marked the second summer in a campaign championed by LSU head coach Ed Orgeron where college football programs all across Louisiana have excluded out-of-state coaching staffs from evaluation camps hosted in their respective schools. As the flagship university, Orgeron wanted to “serve the purpose of protecting Louisiana,” he said last year.

In the short span of time, Tech head coach Skip Holtz told The News-Star Sunday that his program has reaped rewards from the isolation initiative.

“I give coach Orgeron an awful lot of credit for the great job he’s done in the state of Louisiana,” Holtz said. “There’s great talent here. When LSU’s not camping outside the state and they have taken their very valuable camp dates and have partnered up with Louisiana Tech, with ULM, with Tulane, to get around the state and evaluate all the talent, it’s been helpful to everybody in the state.

“I think it’s been huge for us at Louisiana Tech and I’m very grateful to Coach O for flying that banner, flying that state flag and keeping the Boot together.”

For the second straight summer, Orgeron was on campus at Louisiana Tech Sunday, meeting with players as well as Holtz and his staff before the event was called due to weather. The biggest benefit for the Bulldogs, Holtz said, from the last couple of camps with LSU has been the number of kids from the state his coaches have the chance to see.

MORE | How LA Tech's Holtz, LSU's Coach O forged friendship, join forces in offseason

“They’re going to attract a lot of names that are here. In doing so, they have the chance to come here and see what Louisiana Tech is all about,” Holtz said. “LSU can’t take them all, Alabama can’t take them all, there’s a lot more players in this country than opportunities to play.”

Holtz said last year he bought into Coach O’s protecting Louisiana’s recruits plan and that Louisiana Tech has integrated a more ingrained emphasis on instate recruiting.

Out of their 16 total 2019 signees, the Bulldogs signed six recruits from Louisiana in the first class after the initial “Louisiana Only” push. The Tech football coaching staff has offered 45 instate recruits out of 110 total so far in the 2020 class, according 247sports.

“The number of players coming to camps. Recruiting is longer than a camp process. This has turned into a couple of year process. We have the opportunity to go with the emphasis we’ve made in the state of Louisiana, we’re in every high school in the state every year,” Holtz said. “We start evaluating these guys when they’re sophomores in high school. They go on your recruiting list, you know about them, you evaluate them, watch them play, watching films in camps as sophomores, juniors and going into their senior year now.

“I think it’s been great. We have made a huge emphasis on recruiting the state and I think these camps have been very beneficial in giving us not only the opportunity to evaluate the young men, but it also gives the young men the opportunity to come to camp and see what Louisiana Tech has to offer. These camps are here to help these young men made educated decision.”

Follow Cory Diaz on Twitter @CoryDiaz_TNS and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/CoryDiazTNS/