Recruiting to return to normalcy after dead period

With less than two weeks until the end of the NCAA’s mandatory recruiting dead period, college coaching staffs across the country are looking forward to opening their campuses to high school prospects for the first time in more than a year.

Coaches will get face-to-face with recruits for the first time since March 13, 2020, when the NCAA announced it was shutting down in-person visits due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“We’ll be able to have kids on campus, which is big,” said Florida State coach Mike Norvell. “To think that I’ve been in the job for over a year-and-a-half and there have been less than 20 days that we’ve had that opportunity so it’s going to be critical for us and it’s going to be joyful for us to get faceto-face.”

The NCAA voted to end the dead period on June 1, allowing a return to the normal recruiting calendar, and high school prospects have already scheduled their official visits for the next month.

“I think you’re going to see a whole lot of kids visiting a whole lot of campuses to try and make up for lost time,” said Mike Farrell, national columnist for Rivals.

Farrell believes once the dead period ends, prospects will be eager to commit to schools.

“You’re going to see a rash of commitments probably from June 1 through the middle of July because you also have some limited camps as well,” he added.

Steve Wiltfong, who is director of recruiting for 247Sports, expects the rush to come later in the summer.

“I think in June, kids are going to love taking visits but I don’t think we’ll see a ton of commitments. But I think in July, I think that’s

going to be an insane commitment month,” said Wiltfong. “I don’t think we’re going to see a bunch of commitments on June 1 because I think kids are going to want to go out and see some places.”

Either way, the expectations are for a busy summer on the recruiting trail.

“I think what you’re going to see is a scramble for whatever scholarships are left in the 2022 recruiting class,” said Tom Lemming, recruiting analyst for CBS Sports. “Most schools are more than halfway done. There are a lot more players out there that would love to have a scholarship but it’s going to be a mad scramble.”

Much of the 2021 classes were recruited virtually without on-campus or in-home visits. That forced coaches to get creative with how they sold their programs to recruits.

“The high school kids have been so limited as to what they can do. Zoom, virtual visits, relationships over the phone. That’s not recruiting. That’s not sales,” said Farrell. “It’s difficult to do and they’re going to get to meet the guys faceto-face that they’ve been talking to for the first time. So for the high school kids, it’s going to give them a lot more information.”

Even with the challenges, FSU signed the No. 23-ranked recruiting class in 2021, according to the 247Sports, and the Seminoles appear to have a great start for 2022. That class features nine commitments and a No. 9 ranking.

“We’ve tried to maximize all the virtual Zooms, FaceTimes and all the things that we could do even within the limitations,” said Norvell. “But to get somebody face-to-face where they can feel the passion, where they can see the steps and be around our players and get that perspective of where the program is and where it’s going, that’s going to be big.”

The lack of personal contact hasn’t appeared to slow down traditional powerhouses such as Georgia, Ohio State, LSU and Notre Dame, which once again remain among the leaders in recruiting. The ability to get recruits on campus for visits and camps could be a huge swing for programs as many of the top-rated recruits remain undecided.

“There are a lot of kids out there that want scholarships than normal because the seniors didn’t play until now and there aren’t a lot of scholarships left,” added Lemming. “I think you’ll see the mad scramble.”

A sudden rush of commitments could also mean a rash of de-commitments down the road.

“Kids are going to be so excited to take a visit for the first time and they’re going to get caught up in it and they’re going to commit,” said Farrell. “A lot of them will last the summer and then take their official visits in the summer or the fall and then change their minds.”