East Coast Spotlight: Players who are delaying commitments
There has been a rush of commitments since the beginning of April, many from prospects who have accelerated their decisions in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic that has paused the sports world. Without the ability to take college visits, though, other prospects have pushed planned commitment dates back. Below, Rivals has a look at four players whose recruitments have suffered some form of setback.
RELATED: Midwest players who have altered plans this spring | Southeast players
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Williams had planned on taking visits to LSU, Oklahoma, Penn State and Maryland during the spring leading up to an early-summer decision. That timeline is still in play, but those visits had to be canceled. The extended timeline seems to be helping Maryland more than Oklahoma or LSU, but the Sooners still hold a commanding lead at this point.
LSU could pick up some momentum if it is able to get him back on campus before he decides to commit, but Maryland is the long-term threat even if they don’t get his commitment this summer. Mike Locksley and his staff will still be recruiting Williams all the way up until he signs his National Letter of Intent, and if the Terps exceed expectations on the field this season, it will only help their case.
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Rucci was working hard to figure out his commitment before his senior season started and had set an ambitious visit schedule for this spring and summer. He wanted to take all five of his official visits and commit in July or August, but the odds of that happening are pretty slim now.
Rucci has admitted to being open to the possibility of carrying his recruitment into his senior season, but he really wants to avoid that. Penn State is in a great position to land this legacy prospect, but Stanford, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio State, Notre Dame and a few others have put themselves in position to potentially move up on his list of contenders if they're able to get him on campus. Don't be surprised to see Rucci take his time with his recruitment and make sure he does all the necessary research before pulling the trigger.
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A long list of schools were going to get Leigh on campus for visits this spring and summer, but he’s had to put those trips on hold and opt for virtual tours instead. The unexpected recruiting dead period has forced Leigh into the difficult position of having to weed out teams he isn’t interested in without getting a firsthand look at many schools.
The longer Leigh’s recruitment carries on, the worse the outlook for LSU. Leigh has been to Baton Rouge, but the Tigers have to hope they can keep up their momentum while they can’t have in-person contact with him. Clemson, Penn State and Ohio State are a few of the teams that are also doing well with Leigh, but the two teams that could be gaining momentum through this pandemic are Virginia and Virginia Tech. The two in-state programs made Leigh a priority early in the recruiting process and haven’t taken their foot off the gas. Leigh’s parents attended Virginia and he has cousins who attended Virginia Tech, so there are plenty of connections to both schools.
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While Marley isn’t the most well-known prospect, he is extremely talented and has no shortage of options. Tennessee is in the best position to land his commitment, but his first visit to Knoxville had to be canceled because of the pandemic. If he had made that trip, Marley would have been committed by now, in all likelihood.
The Vols are recruiting at an impressive clip right now, and Marley could be forced to look elsewhere if he waits much longer. North Carolina is waiting in the wings, and so are NC State and Kentucky. Look for Marley to start scheduling visits soon after the dead period is over.