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Published Jun 8, 2024
What it's like attending the Spartan Football Fan Camp
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Brendan Moore  â€¢  Spartans Illustrated
Staff Writer
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@bmoorecfb

On a normal day, you might see Jacob Brown, from Lake Orion, Mich., managing supply chains for General Motors or watching his two girls compete in gymnastics.

But on Wednesday, Brown had a moment he will remember for a long time.

The annual Spartan Football Fan Camp took place in East Lansing Wednesday. After a tour of the Tom Izzo Football Building that included a look at the Nike Gear Lab, nutrition station, players’ lounge, weight room, practice fields, team meeting room and more, campers participated in a drill session led by several players.

This portion of the camp was supposed to be outside on the gorgeous green grass of Spartan Stadium. However, the weather didn't cooperate. It was a gloomy day in East Lansing with quick flashes of lightning, sudden impending booms of thunder, and off and on rain as well. There were moments of torrential downpours and other moments where the rain was falling just enough to be a nuisance.

The fickle nature of late spring midwestern weather resulted in the drill portion of camp being relocated inside the practice facility. Fifteen players led campers through position-specific drills. Those players were quarterback Tommy Schuster, running backs Nate Carter and Brandon Tullis, wide receivers Alante Brown and Montorie Foster Jr., tight end Jack Velling, offensive linemen Dallas Fincher and Brandon Baldwin, defensive linemen Maverick Hansen and Jalen Thompson, linebackers Jordan Hall, Cal Haladay and Darius Snow, and defensive backs Dillon Tatum and Khalil Majeed.

After running through drills, players and campers intermingled and split into two teams. They played a game of 9-on-9 ultimate football – a spin off of ultimate frisbee. Once you make a reception, you can only take two steps before you must throw the ball. If the ball is batted down, dropped, or intercepted, the defense takes over possession of the football.

It was a back and forth, fast paced game that saw the green team trail by two touchdowns at halftime. The green team ended up tying the game in the second half to send it to overtime. That’s when it was Brown’s time to shine.

Brown went deep and camped out in the end zone. The ball was headed straight for him. He leaped and made the catch in traffic to win the game for the green team. He landed pretty hard on his back but immediately rose to his feet as campers and players alike went crazy as they couldn’t believe what they saw. Some folks had their hands on their heads in a surrender cobra position while others sprinted toward Brown to congratulate him.

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Despite getting turf in his eyes when he hit the ground, it was a moment to remember for Brown and well worth the time and effort to get to East Lansing early Wednesday morning to attend his first ever Spartan Football Fan Camp.

The same can be said for a lot of the other campers. Some even traveled from out of state to attend. There were about 50 campers that went on the tour of the Tom Izzo Football Building and sat through a film session with several analysts on the Michigan State support staff. Most stayed for lunch, the drills, 9-on-9 game, and dinner.

Here is a peek at what was shown to those that went on the tour:

Nike Gear Lab

Campers got a close up look at the gear that the Spartans wear on gameday including helmets, cleats, gloves and more.


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Weight room

Amongst the endless amount of squat racks, head strength and conditioning coach Mike McDonald gave a presentation to campers about what happens in the weight room.

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Team meeting room

In the massive and brand new team meeting room filled with some of the most comfortable seats you’ll sit in, campers watched a short hype video followed by an X’s and O’s session from several of Michigan State’s analysts.


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There were other stops on the tour, including a presentation on nutrition, a look inside the video room where the video coordinators film practice, and a quick peek at the players’ lounge.


My takeaways

If you are a die hard Michigan State football fan, this camp is for you. Tom Nihra, alongside his wife Deni, have worked very hard over the years to make this camp the best it can be. The staff at MSU, especially Chief of Staff Dan Van De Riet and Director of Player Engagement Kurt Richardson, have been very receptive and want to make the camp special for all the Spartan fans that come.

After talking with several campers throughout the event and after the event, I did not hear one bad review, except for the weather of course. The players weren’t going through the motions either during the drills. They were having a lot of fun and truly making an effort to engage with the campers, especially at lunch and dinner.

The tour gave a great look at not only the world class facilities, but also all the moving parts that go into building a successful football program. From nutrition to strength training to even the student assistants that help film practice, there are a ton of people that all need to be pulling the rope in the same direction. This camp helps put that in perspective and gives fans who attend a great behind the scenes experience.

Next year’s Spartan Football Fan Camp will likely be on a Wednesday in early June once again. Stay tuned to the Spartan Fantasy Camp website for all the latest information.

There will also be the Spartan Fan Golf Camp on August 23. Registration is still open, and campers will get a tour of the golf facility, instruction from a current MSU women's golfer, and play nine holes at Forest Akers.

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