Signing a national letter of intent to play football for the Arizona Wildcats is a moment thatβll never escape Syndric Steptoeβs memory.
Surrounded by his family and Bryan High School (Texas) head coach Marty Criswell, Steptoe inked his life away to the UA in his coachβs office.
Steptoe, who is now the senior director of player and community relations for his alma mater, in partnership with three-time Super Bowl champion and Amphitheater product Riki Ellison, will lead the βYouth Impact Program,β a two-week camp for middle schoolers thatβll run each weekday from Monday through June 24.
The Youth Impact Program was founded by Ellison in 2005, but is entering its second year at the UA. The camp is cost-free for the participants who will have 43 total counselors β 25 airmen from Davis Monthan Air Force Base and 18 players from the UA football team. Local teachers will also serve as counselors for the educational portion of the YIP.
Steptoe, who played at UA from 2003-06, created a signing party at Amphi Middle School on Thursday for camp participants to simulate the emotions of signing to become a student-athlete.
βThey signed for βThis is what Iβm committing to for the next two weeks,ββ Steptoe said. βIt was a big deal for, so being able to emulate that opportunity or type of program, weβre teaching these kids the importance of signing an NLI. But more importantly, we want to show them the importance of going to college. Thatβs what this is about at the end of the day.β
Arizona head coach Jedd Fisch, who spoke to campers on Thursday before the signing party, became familiarized with the Youth Impact Program in 2016, when he was an assistant under Jim Harbaugh at Michigan.
βI saw how impactful it was and how awesome it was to team up with the military and help kids that might not be as privileged as others,β Fisch said. βThen, to be able to do it last year during COVID, we were able to keep them safe, and our players loved it. My hope is to do it every year and make Arizona home base for it.β
Each day during the camp will begin promptly at 8 a.m. with breakfast and the academic portion until noon. For an hour, the campers will disperse into a βleadership development session.β Paul Dias, who owns 14 McDonaldβs in Tucson, is contributing lunch for the camp. From 1-3 p.m., the student-athletes will then have football training.
βWe keep them engaged through academics, then we get to the football part later,β Steptoe said.
Fisch will implement βR.A.I.S.E.β, the five program values emblazoned inside every UA football facility, which stands for respect, accountability, innovation, selflessness and enthusiasm.
βWe donβt need to talk about rules as long as we live by those values,β Fisch said. βI think those kids can benefit from the same.β
Growing up βin the backyard of Texas A&M,β the only connection to the hometown college similar to the Youth Impact Program Steptoe was a mentorship program that put Aggie football players in elementary schools around College Station and Bryan.
βLocal Aggies would come over and mentor at the elementary school for a semester, but nothing this intense, like working with the actual football program,β Steptoe said. βSo, when I heard about this, I said, βIβm all-in. Tell me what I have to do.β My passion is working with the youth, to get them to see something bigger than themselves and be a part of something thatβs bigger than themselves. Thatβs one of the reasons why I wanted to do it, because I see the importance of it.β
Added Steptoe: βItβs created a great buzz in the community, and middle school kids are wanting to participate. When (Fisch) was first hired, this was one of the first things we talked about, having a camp like this.β
Steptoe said the benefits of the Youth Impact Program includes βbuilding their character and confidence.β
βIt also allows them to connect with same-aged individuals from across town, which they may never get to interact with,β he said. βIt gives them a vision of seeing themselves in a college environment that hopefully sparks something in them to become a college graduate. Knowing the percentages of making it to college as a student-athlete are small, to have that goal and for this program to give them that goal, itβs another asset theyβll have in their back pocket.β
Most of roster on campus
In less than two months, the Wildcats will officially begin preparation for the 2022 season with preseason training camp. Fisch told the Star this week that the Wildcats currently have 107 players β β98%β β in Tucson for the summer.
βEverybody that we want to be here is here,β Fisch said. βPretty excited about the way the bodies have been looking. They looked like theyβve used the offseason well.β
Update on turf
As of this weekend, the turf at Arizona Stadium was, well, not turf. Instead, it was dirt and gravel, because the UA is amid a $1.4 million turf reinstallment.
The project thatβs funded through the athletic departmentβs budget is projected to finish before Aug. 1, when the Wildcats begin preseason training camp.
βWeβll have beautiful, brand new turf to run out to on opening day. Hopefully we can use it for a scrimmage, then certainly for our mock game,β Fisch said. βWe hope that Saturday mock game is as real as we can make it. We want as many people out there, band, cheerleaders, so we can practice on this new turf on what itβs going to look and feel like. I think itβs going to be pretty special.β
Fisch told the Star β90% of the facilities are brand new,β and the Wildcats recently spent $300,000-$400,000 in recovery equipment, including hydrotherapy, 1,080 sprint systems and underwater treadmills, among other rehabilitation equipment.
βAll the good stuff,β Fisch said.
Fisch talks NIL, recruiting
Fisch has one mindset when it comes to the new Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) era of college athletics, which allows student-athletes to receive compensation for endorsements: sink or swim.
βItβs clear that in order to be competitive, you have to be competitive in the NIL marketplace. For us, we have to make sure our players are benefitting from being in Tucson or benefitting from the Arizona alumni force that we have,β Fisch said. βWeβre the pro team in town, so we have opportunities and our players have opportunities to benefit off small businesses and so many different people who live in Tucson. NIL is a huge deal and we have to make sure weβre active, and we have been so far.β
In coalition with Eller College of Management at the UA, the βArizona Edgeβ program was installed last year to help educate student-athletes on NIL deals and how to maximize money-earning possibilities during their collegiate years. In the last year, UA players have landed personal NFTs and endorsement deals for their social media accounts. Quarterback Noah Fifita and wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan have created a podcast, βIsland Time in the Desert,β and record each episode at ATL Wings, a midtown restaurant.
βOur guys need to benefit from it and use these avenues for name, image and likeness and benefit financially from it. β¦ NIL has been important for us, but you need those numbers to compete for a championship,β Fisch said.
Alabamaβs Nick Saban and Texas A&Mβs Jimbo Fisher had a verbal war last month, when Saban suggested the Aggies had the top-ranked recruiting class for 2022 because they used NIL to secure top prospects. Fisch said NIL has been included in recruiting pitches to players, albeit itβs providing examples of what current players are experiencing.
βIf youβre following the letter of the law, which hopefully every team is doing, you shouldnβt be talking about what a player can get if they come to your school. What youβre able to do is communicate to players and their families what current players are receiving and why; what theyβre doing and what theyβre doing it for. We donβt really get involved with NIL on the recruiting aspect. We get after the education aspect of NIL with our recruits, then we make sure our players are taken care of.β
The year after the Wildcats secured one of the top recruiting classes in the Pac-12 and nationally, which included signing McMillan, the highest-rated prospect in program history, Fisch said Arizona is βlooking to double downβ for 2023.
Arizona currently has 11 players committed for β23, and Fisch, who posts a gif of a dancing cactus on his Twitter account whenever the Wildcats receive a commitment, is expecting this class to compete with the coaching staffβs first official class. This month, Arizona has landed seven commits.
βWeβre looking to have a great class this year. I feel great so far with recruiting, and we have a lot of momentum right now,β Fisch said. βA lot of people want to be a part of Arizona football and they want to see the momentum of Arizona football.
βWe have to keep building it and keep putting out dancing cactuses.β