Wildcats' 'Youth Impact Program' to emphasize academics, football

Signing a national letter of intent to play football for the Arizona Wildcats is a moment that’ll never escape Syndric Steptoe’s memory.

Surrounded by his family and Bryan High School (Texas) head coach Marty Criswell, Steptoe inked his life away to the UA in his coach’s 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 “Youth Impact Program,” a two-week camp for middle schoolers that’ll 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 — 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.

“They signed for ‘This is what I’m committing to for the next two weeks,’” Steptoe said. “It was a big deal for, so being able to emulate that opportunity or type of program, we’re teaching these kids the importance of signing an NLI. But more importantly, we want to show them the importance of going to college. That’s what this is about at the end of the day.”

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.

“I 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,” Fisch said. “Then, 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.”

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 “leadership development session.” Paul Dias, who owns 14 McDonald’s in Tucson, is contributing lunch for the camp. From 1-3 p.m., the student-athletes will then have football training.

“We keep them engaged through academics, then we get to the football part later,” Steptoe said.

Fisch will implement “R.A.I.S.E.”, the five program values emblazoned inside every UA football facility, which stands for respect, accountability, innovation, selflessness and enthusiasm.

“We don’t need to talk about rules as long as we live by those values,” Fisch said. “I think those kids can benefit from the same.”

Growing up “in the backyard of Texas A&M,” 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.

“Local Aggies would come over and mentor at the elementary school for a semester, but nothing this intense, like working with the actual football program,” Steptoe said. “So, when I heard about this, I said, ‘I’m all-in. Tell me what I have to do.’ My passion is working with the youth, to get them to see something bigger than themselves and be a part of something that’s bigger than themselves. That’s one of the reasons why I wanted to do it, because I see the importance of it.”

Added Steptoe: “It’s 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.”

Steptoe said the benefits of the Youth Impact Program includes “building their character and confidence.”

“It also allows them to connect with same-aged individuals from across town, which they may never get to interact with,” he said. “It 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, it’s another asset they’ll have in their back pocket.”

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 — “98%” — in Tucson for the summer.

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“Everybody that we want to be here is here,” Fisch said. “Pretty excited about the way the bodies have been looking. They looked like they’ve used the offseason well.”

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 that’s funded through the athletic department’s budget is projected to finish before Aug. 1, when the Wildcats begin preseason training camp.

“We’ll 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,” Fisch said. “We 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 it’s going to look and feel like. I think it’s going to be pretty special.”

Fisch told the Star “90% of the facilities are brand new,” 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.

“All the good stuff,” 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.

“It’s 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,” Fisch said. “We’re 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 we’re active, and we have been so far.”

In coalition with Eller College of Management at the UA, the “Arizona Edge” 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, “Island Time in the Desert,” and record each episode at ATL Wings, a midtown restaurant.

“Our guys need to benefit from it and use these avenues for name, image and likeness and benefit financially from it. … NIL has been important for us, but you need those numbers to compete for a championship,” Fisch said.

Alabama’s Nick Saban and Texas A&M’s 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 it’s providing examples of what current players are experiencing.

“If you’re following the letter of the law, which hopefully every team is doing, you shouldn’t be talking about what a player can get if they come to your school. What you’re able to do is communicate to players and their families what current players are receiving and why; what they’re doing and what they’re doing it for. We don’t 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.”

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 “looking to double down” for 2023.

Arizona currently has 11 players committed for ’23, 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 staff’s first official class. This month, Arizona has landed seven commits.

“We’re looking to have a great class this year. I feel great so far with recruiting, and we have a lot of momentum right now,” Fisch said. “A lot of people want to be a part of Arizona football and they want to see the momentum of Arizona football.

“We have to keep building it and keep putting out dancing cactuses.”