Coronavirus leaves athletes, coaches playing guessing game

College recruiting is in chaos. The novel coronavirus pandemic that led to the closing of schools in California and other states has sent recruiting into an unknown wilderness, with sweeping changes in the way colleges evaluate, high schools promote and athletes ultimately make decisions.

It has led NCAA officials to adjust eligibility rules, dates to sign national letters of intent and times when coaches can contact recruits.

“There never has been anything like this where they can’t get in front of a recruit for such an extended and still-to-be- determined period,” said Brandon Huffman, national recruiting editor for online network 247 Sports. “This is one of those rare cycles where coaches essentially are having to make a lot of decisions sight unseen and having to trust their guts.”

Huffman said the situation has led to panic buying in major college football with verbal commitments for the class of 2021 reaching 235 more than the previous two years combined at this time.

No one can predict where it will lead as medical scientists work on a vaccine and treatments for a disease that has infected 4.4 million people worldwide.

College coaches probably will not know whether a 2020 football season can be held until July or later. Rising high school seniors face the same predicament with all fall sports seasons in jeopardy. Many of those athletes still hope to appear in summer showcase events so they can audition in front of college scouts. But the chances of playing in the summer are less likely than holding fall seasons.

“I definitely think there is some panic going on and some concern for these kids,” said Sue Phillips, coach of San Jose girls basketball powerhouse Archbishop Mitty High School.

“At this point, if you’re 2020 and you don’t have any offers, you’re probably going to junior college,” former Menlo-Atherton football coach Adhir Ravipati added.

The Bay Area News Group talked to high school and college coaches, players, parents and recruiting experts to pinpoint the issues everyone is facing. Their conclusion: High school and college sports eventually will return, but the recruiting landscape might be forever changed.

Zoom in on recruits

College football coaches are known for their singular focus on Xs, Os and game film. Coronavirus has forced them to join the digital age to meet recruits and their families.

“Most of us in the coaching profession hadn’t heard of Zoom before a month ago, but now we’re all experts,” Stanford football coach David Shaw said. “It has forced all of us to get some ingenuity, be a little forward-thinking, and think outside of some of our comfort zones.”

Cal football coach Justin Wilcox, 43, said it has been a transition to learn to use Zoom and FaceTime, the iPhone’s audio and video call app. Wilcox now sees how digital tools will help him and his staff connect better with current and future players.

“That’s how a lot of the kids engage,” he said. “We’re trying to communicate in a way that is meaningful for them.”

Wilcox, entering his fourth season at Berkeley, is uncertain how recruiting will change once the health crisis passes. But he expects collegiate sports to adopt some new approaches like other industries. As more people get used to video conferencing there could be less need to spend thousands of dollars to visit families across the country.

“Could spring recruiting be one of them?” Wilcox asked. “Absolutely. There is room for a conversation about how we can streamline this better. Spring recruiting, summer camps, there is probably a good discussion on the other end of this that could provide us with some healthy models.”

Seeing is believing

Adam Cohen, Stanford’s associate head coach in men’s basketball, has a method for getting a feel for a recruit.

He believes in the personal touch.

Cohen said video conferencing and phone calls cannot replace seeing an athlete and his family in person to read their body language. He also does not rely on what high school and club coaches say.

“We’re going to evaluate them on what we see and not what we hear,” Cohen said. “When talking about a large investment to go to Stanford you have to do your due diligence yourself.”

Cohen said he expects more misses in the class of 2021 than usual because recruiters are unable to watch the players in spring, and probably summer, competitions.

“I don’t know any way there won’t be,” he said. “I feel strongly that without having the same number of evaluations there are going to be a lot more mistakes with kids playing at the wrong level. It could lead to a lot of kids transferring.”

A football player’s conundrum

The scholarship opportunities for Menlo-Atherton football standout Skyler Thomas might depend on his senior season — if it indeed happens.

Thomas, a 6-foot-2, 180-pound defensive back/ wide receiver, needs a way to show college recruiters his worth. A collarbone injury sidelined him for nearly all of his junior season last fall so he does not have recent game footage.

Now the pandemic has shut down 7- 0n-7 competition, spring practice and college summer camps, the three events Thomas was counting on to attract attention.

Former coach Ravipati said many college coaches like Thomas, who played on the Bears’ 2018 state championship team as a sophomore.

“They just haven’t seen him in person since he was a 14-year- old sophomore,”

Ravipati said. “You are looking at a kid who is a Power 5 talent, but coaches just want to be able to see him in person. And who knows when they are going to get a chance to do that.”