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Upcoming satellite camps are key for Lovie Smith and the Illini

The Illini's new head coach get his first chance to promote the orange and blue brand on the road.

By Trevor Vallese
Mike Granse-USA TODAY Sports

Lovie Smith is still just two months into his job as the head coach of the Fighting Illini, but he's already made a flurry of changes. His new coaching staff includes former NFL coordinators like Hardy Nickerson and Luke Butkus and boasts many talented names. Smith is taking these names with him on the road this summer to host satellite camps around the midwest. There are (so far) a total of six all-day camps that will include personal instruction from the Illinois coaches and other teams' coaches. Below are the details.

Date/Time Location
June 3rd Chicago Gately Stadium
June 4th (a.m.) Barrington, IL
June 4th (p.m.) Lincoln Way East in Chicago, IL
June 7th Trinity High School in St. Louis, MO
June 8th Lancaster High School in Dallas, TX
June 9th Houston, TX

The June 8th camp in Dallas, Texas (Lovie's home state) will also include coaches from Tennessee, UAB, and other FCS programs:

Camps like these, which were receiving a lot of scrutiny from the NCAA back when Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh took his team to Florida, are now completely within the rules. Lovie and company will hope to recapture recruiting areas in other midwestern states like Missouri and Texas, and camps like these certainly can't hurt their chances. This post will be updated as future satellite camps are added.