Things are just a little different now for River Hill athlete Michael Campanaro.

After verbally committing to Wake Forest last month, Campanaro sent e-mails to all the other coaches recruiting him, informing them of his decision and thanking them for their time.

So now, when college coaches come to River Hill, a visit with Campanaro isn’t on the agenda.

“A lot of coaches come by the school and stuff, and I'm always with my buddies [safety Leron Eaddy and running back Malek Redd], but I'm not getting pulled out of class anymore because I'm already committed.”

While recruiting is over for Campanaro, one part of his life that remains unchanged since he became a Demon Deacon is his participation in any nearby combine or training camp. Last weekend, the 5-foot-10, 180-pounder squeezed two events into his busy schedule.

“First we went to Rutgers for the [Big Time] Showcase and it was pretty fun,” said Campanaro, who rushed for 1,884 yards and scored 30 total touchdowns as a junior. “We just ran a 40 and then got to do one-on-one stuff. It was fun to be out there with the lights on.

“Then Saturday I was at the Nike camp [at Penn State]. I felt like I performed very well -- it was one of my best camps.”

Campanaro ran a 4.41 hand-timed 40 at Rutgers, which wasn’t a personal best, but a satisfying time nonetheless.

“I've done better than that,” Campanaro said, “but I would say I was pretty happy with it because I've put on more weight. I'm up to 180, so [I’ve put on] probably about a good 10, 12 pounds.”

While many prospects turn out for combines to get noticed by coaches, that’s obviously not the intent for Campanaro. Instead, he uses the platform to measure his game against other top wideouts and go toe-to-toe with some of the country’s top defensive backs.

“I think [I attend the camps to] just try to make myself get better, and just compete against the top guys on the East Coast and across the nation,” Campanaro said. “I just want to keep competing to make myself better. Before I know it, I'll be playing Division I football and everyone’s going to be really good -- bigger, stronger, faster -- so it's good going up against some of the top guys in the nation.”

Campanaro, who chose the Demon Deacons over North Carolina and Northwestern among others, said making his commitment so early in the process wasn’t a difficult decision. A few visits to Wake was all it took to convince The Sun’s Howard County offensive player of the year that Winston Salem, N.C. was the place for him.

“I think after I sat down with my family, I knew what offers were coming in and what schools were looking at me,” Campanaro said. “And I figured if I had these offers from these schools, would Wake still be the school? And I thought if I had Wake and all the offers in the country, Wake would still be the school.”

Now Campanaro, who will primarily play slot receiver in college, is trying to convince other area prospects that Wake Forest could be the right school from them as well.

“I'm starting to recruit myself and get some guys interested in Wake and helping out a little bit,” Campanaro said. “I know a few Maryland guys that I'd like to come down, get them down to camp. ... And guys I see on Wake's [Rivals and Scout sites], I'll hit them up on Facebook or something to see what they're thinking.”

Before attending Wake's camp this summer, Campanaro has a few more combines on tap for the spring. He’ll also suit up for River Hill’s 7-on-7 team.

While he’s entirely focused on his senior season at River Hill, Campanaro said he’s excited to go from one tight-knit football family to another.

“Right when I committed [to Wake Forest], all the coaches and players, they kind of brought me in and welcomed me to the family,” Campanaro said. “They really pride themselves on being a family and I already feel like a part of it.”

Credit: Sun photo of Michael Campanaro by Doug Kapustin