South-Central 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 takes a look at five players whose recruitments have suffered some form of setback.
MORE: Midwest players who have altered plans this spring | Southeast players
CLASS OF 2021 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
CLASS OF 2022: Top 100
*****
While many prospects across the country elected to claim a spot and commit during this global pandemic, others have been taking it all in stride. Daniels is an example of just that, adding several major college football scholarship offers during this time without spring football.
Georgia, Clemson, Alabama, Florida State, Texas A&M and USC were among the new overtures to arrive for the talented safety. Daniels didn't have a concrete decision timeline in place - and the Sooners were in a strong position for the in-state target - but the flurry of new offers and interest has pushed Daniels' decision back a bit until he can make his way back on the road to see some campuses in-person.
*****
No, the nation's No. 1-ranked defensive tackle was not planning to announce his commitment anytime this spring or summer, but Smith had hoped to confidentially commit to a school sometime in August and then go public at the tail end of his senior season. Smith, who has never officially narrowed his list of top schools down, is very high on Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Texas A&M and Florida, and had plans to make it to each of those SEC schools this spring and summer.
With the pandemic spoiling trips back to The Swamp and a first visit to Athens, Smith has been forced to deal with virtual visits and conversations. That means his official visits will now be in the fall instead of the summertime, as originally planned. He no longer believes he'll be able to privately commit in August, putting an even bigger onus on the fall trips before his December decision.
*****
Pazon somehow managed to squeeze in a plethora of unofficial visits around the country before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down on-campus visits. From January through March, the four-star New Orleans wide receiver made trips to Florida, Florida State, Alabama, Oklahoma and USC. He was supposed to return to LSU in March, but the timing did not work out due to the virus.
Pazon had been eyeing a commitment sometime in late March or close to Easter last month - with the Seminoles gaining a ton of momentum - but he has since delayed making any decisions. The Rivals250 standout could make a decision in the near future, but as time goes on, it opens the door for some more schools to jump into the picture.
*****
Coffey had hoped to have a decision made at this point in his recruitment. In fact, the Texas four-star safety had flirted with commitment at the tail end of his junior season at Kennedale High and believed there would be a verdict at some point in the midst of his busy spring or by the start his senior season.
Coffey was able to make it to Baylor, Texas, Washington and Oregon before the dead period. His junior day visit to LSU was nixed due to the pandemic and he has still yet to take a trip to Michigan. While there's still a possibility Coffey could make a decision at some point this spring or summer, he is more likely to make his mind up during the season.
*****
By the end of the first week in May, the Brockermeyers would have completed their first two official visits to Alabama (April) and LSU (May). Next up on their original schedule was Auburn and Texas in June before a return trip back to Tuscaloosa at the end of the month.
Now, the Brockermeyer family is reshuffling the calendar and trying to map out visits for games in the fall. The Brockermeyers have already circled the LSU-Texas tilt in Baton Rouge for September as a must, and trips to Alabama, Auburn and Texas seem like surefire official visit destinations as well. Neither Tommy or James had a timeline in place to make a decision, but with all of their officials pushed back they seem that much further away from making a call.