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By running elite camps, Rivals gains control
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NEW YORK (AP) — As recruiting coverage becomes more competitive, Rivals.com has come up with a way to help separate itself from the pack.Already one of the most successful and popular spots on the Internet for recruiting news, Rivals.com is now in the business of running camps for highly recruited football prospects.There have been 15 Rivals camps around the country this spring, leading up to a showcase event this weekend: The Rivals 100 Five-Star Challenge at Soldier Field in Chicago. Among the top prospects on the roster for the invitation-only camp are Da’Shawn Hand, a defensive end from Virginia, and Deshaun Watson, a quarterback from Georgia.The camps allow Rivals.com, which is owned by Yahoo, to push the brand name while helping its reporters to gather a mountain of information for its usersEric Winter, head of Rivals.com, said after sending his staff all over the country to scout players and make contacts he realized Rivals was missing an opportunity by not running its own camps.“So we could control the environment, and create a run of show that was catered to our needs and our users’ and paid subscribers’ needs, wants and desires,” Winter said recently.Winter tapped into former San Diego State coach Al Luginbill, whom Winter covered for the student paper when he was a student at SDSU, to lead a staff of former professional coaches and players to run the prospects through various drills.And because Rivals is in control, it can have some fun with the matchups.“We’ll put the Clemson commit against the Florida State commit,” Winter said. “Arizona against Arizona State.”The players participating in the regional camps and Five-Star Challenge don’t have to pay an entry fee.