“We got approached a few years back by the Disney folks to move the camp to Orlando, but Thibodaux was home for us. Great folks. They treat us so well, and we all felt strongly the camp should stay in Louisiana.” (Archie Manning, NFL Legend)
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Summers in South Louisiana can be described in two words: Hot and humid. But, over the past few years, the spot for American summer football has become, of all places, Thibodaux, Louisiana, at Nicholls State University.
Last year, 2,567 high school athletes and over 340 counselors worked the three football camps at Nicholls State University: The Louisiana Line Camp, The Manning Passing Academy, and the Pro Football Camp.
Former President/CEO of the South Louisiana Economic Council, Vic Lafont, says the three camps bring in an estimated $3.6 million for the local economy yearly.
“Sports have become the economic engine in South Louisiana during a slow time of the year in June and July,” Lafont says. “We get calls daily about possible hotels or bed and breakfast homes available during these camps, but everything is full.”
The restaurants are packed, and the parents are looking for places to tour or visit in the area. Many parents bring their sons to the camps and stay in New Orleans, too. They visit places in the city and watch their sons practice during the day.
For such a modest town and sweltering summer weather, it’s a remarkable success story. And Thibodoax shows no signs of giving up its title as America’s Summer football hub anytime soon. Longtime football coach Don Rodrigue explains how he's seen rapid growth across all three camps.
“The Manning Passing Academy gets so much attention, and they bring in huge crowds,” says Rodrigue. “But the Louisiana Line Camp and the Pro Football Camp have really grown so fast over the past few years because of the quality of the camps and getting great coaching from some of the best prep coaches in the nation and former stars in college and pro football.”
Part of the draw is the staggering number of NCAA and NFL stars and coaches who travel to the region to coach and develop these young athletes.
“It’s a tremendous opportunity for high school players in our region and from across the country to learn from the Mannings, all the starting quarterbacks in college football, and former and current players who play along the offensive and defensive lines,” Rodrigue continues. “You have coaches in the NFL here and players from the region who play pro football now and give back to the area, like Maason Smith, Amik Robertson, and Sai’Vion Jones, just to name a few. We had LSU’s Will Campbell here last summer to work with the offensive linemen, and he was just selected with the fourth overall pick in the entire draft by the New England Patriots.”
Between the three camps, every position on the field is represented. And to see it all go down here in South Louisiana is nothing short of amazing.
Developing the 'grunt' game: Pete Jenkins on the origins of the Louisiana Line Camp
The Louisiana Line Camp started in 1987.
“The three of us, Jessie Daigle, Kenny Ferro, and I, were all coaching at LSU at the time,” says legendary defensive line coach Pete Jenkins. “This was long before '7 on 7' competition camps, and while there were a few camps for quarterbacks and some team camps, there was nothing specific for the 'grunt' part of the game. Teaching offensive and defensive linemen the techniques and principles of playing up front was just not there.”
Jenkins explains the importance of creating a solely technique-focused camp for young players, something that isn’t focused on recruitment.
“We didn’t want this to be a recruiting camp, and it’s not one today,” Jenkins says. “This is a teaching camp for getting high school players to hone their craft if they play along the offensive/ defensive line or play linebacker. We even have some tight ends involved with the camp.”
Jenkins explains how the camp’s growth has been amazing. “Nicholls State and Thibodaux have been just great to us,” says Jenkins. “We had opportunities to go elsewhere, but why?”
“The hospitality is fantastic,” Jenkins explains. “There are great people out on the bayou. We have a large number of practice fields and the ability to have some of the best high school coaches in the nation here. Now we are attracting pro coaches. And the crowds here at Nicholls State — it’s amazing to see them watching the practices. I’m fortunate also to have guys like 'Coach Rod' (Don Rodrigue) and Randy Breaux handle the details of the camp.”
Thibodaux’s got all the ingredients to cater to world-class football camps, Jenkins says. And it’s drawing attention.
“We have a Pro Football Hall of Fame offensive lineman in Kevin Mawae, who helps run the offensive side of things, but we also had 14 NFL coaches here last summer,” says Jenkins. “Those guys could spend that weekend with their families or go on vacation, but they want to give back to the game they love. That means something in our profession. It’s not like we are practicing on the beach here. It’s hot and humid, but it’s all about trying to teach young men—the next generation of linemen—how to play the game properly. That warms my heart.”
The passion of those who lead the camp is certainly reflected in its growth. According to Jenkins, Louisiana Line Camp’s first year had between 85-90 campers. In 2024, 722 campers attended the camp. This year, over 755 campers pre-registered to participate.
Aside from the Pro Football Hall of Fame offensive lineman Kevin Mawae and Pete Jenkins, who coached 55 All-Conference defensive linemen in college football and 13 NFL Pro Bowl defensive linemen during his career, the Louisiana Line Camp has featured a huge roster of legends.
This list of legends who’ve worked the camp in the past include former LSU All-SEC and All-Pro defensive tackle Henry Thomas, New Orleans Saints defensive line coach Bo Davis, former LSU standout and current Pittsburgh Steelers defensive line coach Karl Dunbar, former Saints center Steve Korte, Kansas City Chiefs linebackers coach Brendan Daly, Buffalo Bills defensive line coach Ryan Nielsen, Miami Dolphins defensive line coach Austin “Bear” Clark, and longtime Louisiana high school coach Mark Songy.
Don't underestimate the Manning Impact
Aside from the Pro Football Hall of Fame offensive linemen in Kevin Mawae and Pete Jenkins, who coached 55 All-Conference defensive linemen in college football and 13 NFL Pro Bowl defensive linemen during his career, the Louisiana Line Camp has featured a huge roster of legends.
The Manning Passing Academy started in 1996. However, the thought of having a camp for quarterbacks, wide receivers, and tight ends did not come from the patriarch of the Manning family, Archie Manning. Rather, it came from his son, Pro Football Hall of Famer Peyton Manning.
“Back then, on a Saturday morning, Peyton would always look at the box scores of games in the newspaper,” Archie said.
“He saw teams getting beat by 35-40 points, and they were only throwing the ball 5 or 6 times. He talked to me about trying to do something to help the passing game at the quarterback position. I talked to Buddy Teevens about it; he was the head coach at Tulane at the time. That got the ball rolling for the camp.”
Manning says that in the camp’s first year, they had around 100 campers attend over at Tulane University before it moved to Southeastern University in Hammond.
In 2005, the Manning Passing Academy moved to Nicholls State.
“Because of the rapid growth of the camp, we just ran out of practice fields at both Tulane and Southeastern (LA.), and Nicholls had all these fields and land. It was perfect for us,” Manning explains. “We got approached a few years back by the Disney folks to move the camp to Orlando, but Thibodaux was home for us. Great folks, they treat us so well, and we all felt strongly the camp should stay in Louisiana.”
Manning never thought that camp would emerge as the premier quarterback camp in America.
“Really never thought it would grow like this one bit,” Manning added. “Last year, we had over 1,400 campers from 46 states, 4 different countries, and we had 44 starting college quarterbacks come in to help counsel the teenagers. This is not a recruiting camp, and it’s going to stay that way if I have my say. This is a teaching camp. It is just amazing to me in so many aspects.”
While the Manning Passing Academy Camp has grown, so has interest from college quarterbacks throughout the nation. But the interest isn’t just to be a counselor to young athletes; they also look to learn from Peyton, Eli, Cooper, and Archie Manning.
“We’ve been blessed to have the likes of Joe Burrow, Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Matt Stafford, Jayden Daniels, Jalen Hurts, Jared Goff, Dak Prescott, Russell Wilson, Drake Maye, Cam Ward, Tyler Shough (who the Saints picked in Round 2), Bryce Young, and Baker Mayfield, just to name a few,” Manning explains. “Great young men, and we have been able to keep up with them in their journey in the NFL. It’s a blessing to have this camp.”
Who will students get to train with this year? Counselors for the Manning Camp 2025 include LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier, Texas’ Arch Manning, Oregon’s Austin Novosad, Clemson’s Cade Klubnik, Duke’s Darian Mensah, Penn State’s Drew Allar, Texas A&M’s Marcel Reed, and South Carolina standout LaNorris Sellers.
Pro Football Camp Emerges..
The Pro Football Camp was launched in 2007, led by sports agent Albert Elias. Elias, who was the President of Elias Sports Management, started the camp to help high school athletes in the Bayou/River Parish area.
But in 2012, Elias suddenly passed away, and his brother, Dr. David Elias, thought about shutting down the camp.
“This was Albert’s baby, so to speak. He had so many of his clients like Kyle Williams, Michael Brockers, Skylar Green, Travis Daniels, and Al Woods help run the camp, but after thinking it over, I wanted this to be a legacy to Albert,” Elias says. “We have had so many businesses in the area help out, and we award college scholarships each and every year. We probably had around 50-75 guys attend early on, and now we have over 425 people attending. I know Albert’s looking down on this, and he’s so proud to see the growth of the camp.”
The Pro Football Camp has attracted some top names to help out the hundreds of campers in Thibodaux.
“We have had Leonard Fournette, Tre’Davious White, John Fourcade, Al Woods, former Saints defensive lineman Jeff Charleston, former LSU and Canadian Football standout Ronnie Estay, and former LSU linebacker Trev Faulk, all be counselors here,” Elias adds.
Elias now heads the Ortho LA Orthopedic group and is overwhelmed by the growth and positive response to his brother’s camp.
“Never thought this would emerge like it has here in Thibodaux,” Elias says. “So many people have helped to make this camp special for me and also my family. And a special thanks has to go to Nicholls State University and the athletic trainers we get from Thibodaux Regional Health Systems. We couldn’t do this without them.”
Dates for Camps
Louisiana Line Camp - June 14th-17th
(Monday, June 16th, Steve Geller and Mike Detillier will do a remote from Nicholls State for WWL Radio)
Manning Passing Academy - June 26th-29th
(Friday, June 27th, Steve Geller and I will do a remote at John L. Guidry Stadium at the Manning Camp for WWL Radio)
Pro Football Camp - Friday, July 11th.