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Big 12 Spotlight: How has the pandemic affected recruiting?

Latrell McCutchin
Latrell McCutchin (Nick Lucero/Rivals.com)

They say all politics are local and the same adage might be true in recruiting, never more than during a global pandemic. Commitments are coming off the board at a rapid pace this offseason, and an argument could be made it’s because of the NCAA's moratorium on in-person recruiting.

With so many pledges already done, the expectation is there could be a massive decommitment season coming as well and that could change the scope of every recruiting class. Here is a look at each program in the Big 12 and how they have recruited locally and away from home as the summer continues into an uncertain fall.

RELATED: How has pandemic impacted Big Ten recruiting? | SEC | ACC | Pac-12

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BAYLOR

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Staying home: First-year coach Dave Aranda has come out of the gates blazing - and with a tremendous focus on in-state recruiting. Baylor has 17 total commitments and 13 of them are from the state of Texas, led by DT Byron Murphy, WR Hal Presley, OL Connor Heffernan and DB Cicero Caston among others.

Hitting the road: Because so much focus has been put on Texas prospects, the Bears have done some work outside the seven-hour radius of campus, but not much. Three-star LB Jackie Marshall from LaPlace (La.) East St. John committed on July 4 and St. Louis (Mo.) De Smet DT Dakote Doyle is committed along with New Mexico sleeper Sam Carrell, but other than that everyone is close to Waco.

Farrell's take: There’s a big drop off from Texas and Oklahoma as expected in Big 12 recruiting, but Baylor is doing a good job under Aranda. He’s hitting the state hard and has good connections from his days at LSU and he will expand his footprint after a year or two. Matt Rhule was an elite talent evaluator, so Aranda will need to do the same especially with the shutdown.

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IOWA STATE

Staying home: Coach Matt Campbell and his staff have mixed in in-state recruits with other regional players as four players from Iowa are already committed, led by OL Jim Bonifas. The Cyclones also went to Missouri for two pledges with mid-three-star WR Jaylin Noel and one other from Illinois.

Hitting the road: The state of Texas has been fertile recruiting ground for so many programs - and Iowa State is no exception. The Cyclones have four pledges from Texas including three-star QB Charles Wright and new pledge DE Jayden Gray. Iowa State has also gone to Ohio for two commits along with Colorado, Florida, Michigan and Canada for one pledge each.

Farrell's take: Campbell and staff have to recruit outside the seven-hour radius because there aren’t a ton of prospects locally and the blend has been good. Ohio and Florida are important as is Texas and in the shutdown they’ve been good at recruiting far from home.

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KANSAS

Staying home: The only in-state prospect in Kansas’ recruiting class is from right down the road as three-star RB Devin Neal from Lawrence, Kan., is committed. The Jayhawks have clearly taken a regional - if not national - approach to recruiting as well since the only other pledge within a seven-hour radius of campus is Mena, Ark., tight end Mason Brotherton.

Hitting the road: It’s clear that coach Les Miles and his staff put a major focus on going to talent-rich areas for talent this recruiting cycle and it’s paying off. The Jayhawks have four commitments from the state of Texas, a QB pledge from Indiana in three-star Ben Easters and Kansas has also gone to California, Georgia, Alabama and Florida for players. Arguably no commitment is more important than high three-star WR Keon Coleman from Opelousas, La., who picked the Jayhawks over Oklahoma and others.

Farrell's take: Miles has a ton of connections and he’s using them well. He needs to hit Lousiana and Texas harder but aside from that things have gone well for Kansas. They are never expected to pull 4 stars so he will need to coach them up.

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KANSAS STATE

Staying home: DB Davonte Pritchard is the top-rated player in the state of Kansas and he’s already committed to the Wildcats along with two other players from there. Coach Chris Kleiman has also tapped players from Missouri and Iowa as three-star RB Jayden Williams from West Des Moines (Iowa) Valley committed in January.

Hitting the road: Some of Kansas State’s commits are just outside the seven-hour threshold used for this series and that includes the two state of Colorado commits in DE Brayden Wood and QB Jake Rubley, the lone four-star in this class so far. Kansas State has also gone to talent-rich Florida, Texas and Georgia for commitments.

Farrell's take: Keeping Pritchard home was important and local recruiting has been solid under Kleiman. Colorado is also important to them and of course the JUCOs so most of their recruiting is local but I like they way they also have a presence in places like Georgia and Florida.

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OKLAHOMA

Staying home: For some of the biggest commitments in Oklahoma’s class, coach Lincoln Riley has taken a national approach, but the Sooners are doing well locally as well with four commitments from Texas and two from Oklahoma. Former Alabama pledge Latrell McCutchin leads the way and then LB Clayton Smith and OL Cody Jackson are four-star prospects as well.

Hitting the road: Oklahoma went to Washington, D.C., for five-star quarterback Caleb Williams, who picked the Sooners over LSU and Maryland and should be a seamless fit in the offense. Five-star wide receiver Mario Williams is from Plant City, Fla., and the Sooners won out for him as well. Three-star defensive end Nathan Rawlins-Kibonge from Portland, Ore., could be a major sleeper. The Sooners also went to Iowa and back to Florida for recruits, too.

Farrell's take: The Sooners do the best job of national recruiting in the Big 12 and its not even close. Landing Caleb Williams and Mario Williams out of state is very impressive and they balance things well. Texas is important and keeping the home state elite at home is key, but I love the way Oklahoma hits the east coast, Southeast and California and they’ve done a great job during the shutdown.

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OKLAHOMA STATE

Staying home: Oklahoma State has loaded up with in-state prospects as five commits have come from there, led by Edmond (Okla.) Santa Fe three-star LB Collin Oliver. The state of Texas has also been a big focus with six more pledges as Allen, Texas, twin brothers Bryson Green and Blaine Green are two of the top commits.

Hitting the road: The first commitment in Oklahoma State’s class came from three-star linebacker Kolbe Fields out of New Orleans (La.) Rummel, who picked the Cowboys over Houston, Memphis, SMU, Arizona and others, but he recently de-committed along with four-star OL Kelvin Banks. Since early in the recruiting process, coach Mike Gundy and his staff have almost exclusively focused on recruits within just a few hours of Stillwater. That changed with the Pokes’ newest commit of three-star WR John Paul Richardson of Missouri City, Tex.

Farrell's take: The multiple controversies around Gundy this spring and summer haven’t helped things and recruiting has slowed a bit. They are a clear No. 2 in their home state and have a tough time luring elite players from Texas as well. That means they need to go around the country and spot recruit as well and it’s been average so far during the shutdown.

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TCU

Staying home: The Horned Frogs only have six total commitments and the last four have been closer to home with two from Texas, one from Oklahoma and one from Kansas, all within seven hours of campus. Three-star defensive end Chris Murray and OL Noah Bolticoff are the two highest-rated.

Hitting the road: TCU’s first two commits came from afar - one much further than the other. The first pledge came from three-star QB Alexander Honig from Germany and then three-star QB Trent Battle out of Daphne, Ala.

Farrell's take: It’s a small class and very local and it’s hard to get a read on this class. I assume it’s going to be mostly local due to the pandemic.

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TEXAS

Staying home: The top three players in the state of Texas remain uncommitted, so there are even more opportunities for the Longhorns, but Tom Herman and his staff are already making a huge dent in the state. Eleven of 14 commitments are in-state prospects led by ATH Billy Bowman, DE Ja’Tavion Sanders, QB Jalen Milroe and others. If coach Tom Herman can continue to lock up the state’s top players, Texas fans have to be happy with this recruiting class.

Hitting the road: Almost the entire class is from Texas, but not everybody, as Texas recently landed a pledge from four-star CB Jamier Johnson from Pasadena (Calif.) Muir who picked the Longhorns over Oregon and many others. Texas went to Australia for a kicker and Louisiana for a potential sleeper in WR Casey Cain.

Farrell's take: The Longhorns will suffer some tough losses this recruiting cycle, especially if Tommy and James Brockermeyer head to Alabama as expected, but keeping Bowman is huge. Johnson from California is a nice get and they need to spot recruit there and the Southeast more. Depending on how the season goes will determine in state success.

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TEXAS TECH

Staying home: Three-star quarterback Behren Morton was Texas Tech’s first commitment last October and since then the Red Raiders have stayed only in-state with pledges up until the last two. That means seven straight, including WR Jerand Bradley, two tight ends, two defensive ends and an offensive lineman.

Hitting the road: Three-star DT Solomon Wright out of Vian, Okla., committed on May 1 and he was the first Texas Tech commit outside the seven-hour radius of the Lubbock campus by a mere 23 minutes. Recently, JUCO DT Demeco Roland made his pledge to the Red Raiders. Playing at Hutchinson (Kan.) Hutchinson CC, he’s 33 minutes outside of range.

Farrell's take: Morton is a good one and they are starting to hit their in-state stride. I’d like to see Texas Tech pull a few kids from the bigger states like Florida, Georgia or California.

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WEST VIRGINIA

Staying home: Four-star OL Wyatt Milum is the lone in-state commit for West Virginia, which has done a tremendous amount of work in Ohio with five commitments from that state, including four-star RB Jaylen Anderson and high three-star WR Andrew Wilson-Lamp. The Mountaineers also have pledges from players in Maryland and Pennsylvania.

Hitting the road: Coach Neal Brown and his staff have dotted the Southeast for some prospects, which includes three-star QB Will Crowder from Alabama and three-star DE Brayden Dudley out of Georgia. JUCO DT Nigel McGriff out of Mississippi is the newest pledge. There is also an international flair to West Virginia’s class as DE Edward Vesterinen is from Finland and TE Victor Wikstron, the first commit in the class, is Swedish.

Farrell's take: Milum was a key in state keep and they are back in Ohio, which is very important so I give West Virginia a solid grade for local recruiting. The Southeast is key as well, but I like what they are doing at home with Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland.

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