Coaches hit virtual recruiting highway
Football assistants sell prospects via Zoom, emails, texts and calls
University of Houston defensive coordinator Joe Cauthen went home to East Texas.
Offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson is “rolling thru the Golden Triangle.”
You can find co-offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Brandon Jones in Dallas.
Assistants coaches Doug Belk (associate head coach/ co-defensive coordinator), Tyron Carrier (wide receivers), Marquel Blackwell (running backs), Brian Early (defensive line), Zac Etheridge (cornerbacks), Corby Meekins (tight ends) and Mark Scott (special teams coordinator) are spending the week crisscrossing the Greater Houston area.
The UH football staff hit the virtual highway this
week to reach some of the state’s top 2021 football prospects, the latest adjustments to an altered recruiting landscape in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
From the comfort of home offices and living rooms, UH coaches can connect with prospective recruits in what typically is considered the busiest evaluation period on the recruiting calendar. With stay-at-home orders in place throughout the nation, the NCAA has extended the mandatory recruiting dead period, which prohibits any in-person contact between coaches and prospects through May 31.
Rather than on-campus and in-home visits that are typical this time of year, UH coaches now reach out to prospects on the videoconference app Zoom, FaceTime, phone calls, emails and text messages.
As part of a social media blitz, UH coaches have put out the word on Twitter, using cleverly designed graphics that feature each coaches’ image calling on a cell phone.
“Looking for guys from right here in Houston who could play anywhere in the country but want to stay home and rep the city,” Early posted on Twitter. “There’s nothing you can’t accomplish right here with your FAMILY.”
“Finding that great East Texas talent to bring back to H-Town,” Cauthen tweeted.
“It all starts in Houston! I’m looking for the best of the best in the city,” Belk tweeted.
All three of UH’s current commitments for 2021 have come during the shutdown due to the COVID-19 public health crisis — Clear Lake cornerback Mark Wilson, Shadow Creek cornerback Jalen Emery and Kilgore College offensive tackle Rodquice Chaney.
The last time for many recruits to be around campus was during UH’s Junior Day in March. Since then, during the recruiting process, the coaching staff has brought campus to them with special 5- to 10-minute virtual tours.
There is plenty of ground to cover, with UH coaches dividing up a list of about 200 prospects for the 2021 class. What has helped UH is a push earlier this year to get prospects on campus.
“Some are shot by drones and some are shot by hand,” said Emery, a three-star prospect rated the No. 94 cornerback nationally by the 247Sports Composite. “It’s just kind of a tour of the school, the facilities, walking through the buildings. Cool little videos.”
In addition, Emery has spent time with Belk and Etheridge, who coach the secondary, on FaceTime. While the method of communication has changed, the message has not.
“The message is getting across,” Emery said. “The only thing that has changed is the face-to-face interaction.”
Wilson had a Zoom meeting with Belk on Wednesday afternoon, part of what has become a couple times-a-week routine since the became UH’s first 2021 commitment in mid-March. Some of the calls are to check-in, others are spent learning the defense.
Wilson has been coming to the UH campus since he was young, so the inability to take visits has not had a major effect on his recruitment.
“It’s more of on a personal level,’ Wilson said. “It would be the same conversation we would have if I was there with them.”
On a recent call, Wilson was in the process of getting a haircut when Belk called.
“When I FaceTimed, I saw that he was looking a little rough and we started laughing,” Wilson said. “He said he needed to get with my barber.”
While decisions have been made by some rising seniors, the dead period has affected schools that would be in the relationship-building and evaluation phase for those entering junior years for class of 2022. For now, UH has put on hold camps until at least June 30.
When coaching staffs will be allowed to hit the road remains unknown. In a statement earlier this month, the NCAA said it will “continue to be guided by experts to determine whether the date needs to be extended.” There has been some talk that the NCAA could extend the dead period through August.
Until a decision is made, recruits such as Emery will wait for their senior seasons. And UH will continue to cover the state from their computers.
“Now I can just focus on my senior years and just dominate,” Emery said.