Team, the NCAA's "Contact Period" begins next Wednesday, which means coaches can contact you any time by phone or even visit you at your school. Here is a guide to ace every conversation with any recruiting coach that is interested in you as a collegiate football student-athlete. https://www.skool.com/verify-grit-2176/classroom/9ca8170b?md=2c764707a9104e9582403883d1cb579d

Parents and Student-Athletes: For those of you attending Red & Black Camp this coming Sunday April 12th, 2026, I will be hosting a parent and student camp preparation session this Wednesday, April 8th from 6:30 PM - 7:00 PM, where we will discuss: 1. The change in venue location - Xavier High School Field at 181 Randolph Rd. Middletown, CT 2. The schedule of the day - Everything you need to know about registration, the drills, coach conversations, and the competition period 3. How to make the most of the day as a football parent - How you can best support your student-athlete on that day 4. What to bring - The main gear you should bring for the camp 5. How to stay healthy throughout the day I'll also share a recording of the meeting afterwards for those who might need it. cc: @Ulric Copeland @Ricky Copeland @Khadijah Watkins @Ayden Watkins @Jesse Bargar @Janet m Bargar

ATTENTION PLAYERS & PARENTS! UPDATE ON RED & BLACK CAMP LOCATION FROM COACH DICENZO: We are excited to host the Red and Black Football Clinic Sunday April 12th. We have two sessions on the day and both are full. On campus at Wesleyan that day we have two home games that got moved to that day and a road race that goes around the athletic center for 3 hours and they don’t let people in or out of the facility during that time. Due to these issues we have moved the camp down the road 5 minutes to Xavier High School – 181 Randolph Road, Middletown, CT 06457 The clinic will take place at Xavier High school but be the exact same format with all the college coaches coming to camp. Xavier is located right off of RT 9 and closer to the highway. We feel this will make the day easier for everyone involved so we are not dealing with a busy campus. Please email me directly so we know you got the change in location. You can reply to this email me and say, got it, or ok, or Thanks coach – have the location change. We want to make sure we have had direct contact with everyone coming to camp. Morning Session – Registration – 7:30 AM, Camp starts at 9 AM Afternoon Session – Registration 12:30 PM, Camp starts at 1:30 PM GEAR – Helmets and cleats. We know some players don’t have access to their high school helmets. You can still compete at camp without a helmet. We will just pair you up with other players thar don’t have helmets during drills. - Please bring your own labeled water bottle - we will have refill stations set up on the field.   - Please wear your high school gear to help identify yourself.  We will have camp jerseys as well but we want to make sure you do everything possible so coaches know who you are. If you have a helmet make sure to put your name in tape on the front, or we will have tape for you as another way for coaches to notice you in drills..  - We give all the visiting coaches your information prior to camp and when they show up that day. We then email out all of your information to all the coaches that day and will send you a list of all the coaches that attended. 

Big shout out to Gritty Family Members @Eric Green, @Ricky Copeland, and @Ayden Watkins for scheduling out a bunch of incredible Junior Day opportunities already! Eric was a Hometown Hero at Villanova Junior Day and Spring Practice earlier this week. He toured the school with his mom @Pamela Brown and had great conversations with coaches, toured the facilities, and planned his next big business venture as he checked out Nova's Business School. Ricky, and dad @Ulric Copeland (Hampton alum!), as well as Ayden, and mom @Khadijah Watkins, are on the way down to historic Hampton University (VA) tomorrow together! On Saturday, Ricky is headed up to The Mecca, Howard University, to continue conversations with coaches and Ayden is flying back up to Holy Cross for their Junior Day up on The Big Hill. Big FCS week for these outstanding young men and STUDENT-athletes! Send these guys well wishes, prayers, and support. Give these guys a follow on X/Twitter and support their journey: https://x.com/EricGreen27_ https://x.com/Cope779Ricky https://x.com/AydenWatkins08_ https://x.com/JesseBargar27 Also, an extra shout out to Eric for setting the tone and smiling in his Junior Day pics. Bonus Gritty Points, buddy!

Gentleman, if you have workout clips or pictures from your Junior Days that you might want to post for coaches, please send them my way as soon as you can. You can post them here, DM me, or email me at verifygrit@gmail.com.