Recruiting goes digital during coronavirus shutdown
Social distancing is the en vogue term and Zoom Video and FaceTime have taken center stage as the coronavirus has affected every segment of society.
Including recruiting.
Elite prospects around the country are still trying to maneuver through this new reality and find their future homes and coaches are trying to contact them in any way possible as the NCAA has mandated a recruiting dead period that’s in place until at least April 15.
No junior days. No on-campus visits. The regular means of recruiting have ground to a halt but the mechanics of landing top players must go on - and it has.
“I’ve been speaking with Clemson, Notre Dame, Stanford, UNC and NC State the most often,” four-star all-purpose back Will Shipley said.
“FaceTime and Zoom seem to have picked up since the coronavirus. I have been speaking with a lot of coaches through that which is nice because it’s face-to-face and more genuine. I call and text as well but not as much. Recruiting has definitely picked up the past week and I have more and more coaches reaching out and wanting to talk more often than we have in the past.”
Some coaching staffs are even updating recruits on the coronavirus timeline through those video services. For everyone, looking to the future is important especially in recruiting and getting back to the normalcy of taking visits and talking with coaches in person.
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“I’ve been talking with coach (Lincoln) Riley, (Ed) Orgeron, (Jim) Harbaugh on FaceTime and coach (James) Cregg from LSU and UCF and Florida on text, too,” four-star offensive lineman Tristan Leigh said. “They pretty much check up on me and we catch up and talk about quarantine, and try to come up with a plan for me to visit when this is over.”
FaceTime and text messaging are not the only ways for coaches to stay in touch with recruits in these strange days. Top 2022 defensive back Zion Branch from Las Vegas Bishop Gorman said he’s been playing Xbox with Washington assistant Will Harris and USC’s Donte Williams.
The same goes for four-star DB Jaylin Davies, who just released a top seven of Ohio State, Alabama, Texas, Arizona State, USC, UCLA and Washington.
“I FaceTime and text coaches mainly,” Davies said. “But I play Chris (Hawkins) from ASU and (Armond Hawkins from USC) in Madden sometimes.”
So many top prospects have been busy talking with coaches.
Four-star Terrence Lewis, the top outside linebacker nationally, said Ohio State, Texas A&M, Tennessee, Penn State and Nebraska have especially reaching out during the travel ban.
Five-star offensive tackle Amarius Mims said he’s talking to Auburn coach Gus Malzahn, Alabama assistants Kyle Flood and Sal Sunseri, Georgia position coach Matt Luke and “the entire Florida State staff” on FaceTime.
The nation’s top offensive guard, five-star Bryce Foster out of Katy (Texas) Taylor, has a top five of LSU, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas and Texas A&M, and he said he’s regularly talking with all five staffs through FaceTime and text messages.
Four-star quarterback Garrett Nussmeier from Flower Mound (Texas) Marcus was planning a commitment by Easter but with the travel ban and his inability to visit campuses, he’s seriously considering a postponement. That has only ramped up communication with coaches across the country hopeful they can still sway him.
“I have been on FaceTime non-stop with coaches lately,” Nussmeier said. “It has been fun getting to connect with them in different ways. It’s interesting but it’s definitely easier and better face-to-face.”
Four-star Barrett Carter, the nation’s top inside linebacker, has been busy as well. The Suwanee (Ga.) North Gwinnett star has been in constant contact with Georgia, Auburn, Ohio State, Alabama, Florida State, Clemson and LSU.
“I FaceTime and text all of them and we talk probably every single day,” Carter said. “Definitely on-campus visits are better for me. I wanted to have my recruitment done soon so the virus is postponing my commitment.”
In the time of the coronavirus, even some commitments are being ground to a halt.