There’s uncertainty everywhere. No one knows when the world will fully reopen. No one knows when it will be safe to go outside. And as for distractions, well, no one knows when team sports will resume.
Just think about this: It’s mid-May and no one seems to have a clue if there will be a college football season. If there’s not, the repercussions are sure to be grand. Billions lost. What happens to scholarships going forward? Would schools have to cut sports? How would athletic departments recover? You could go on and on.
But for the high school football players of America, they just want to know how it affects their recruitment.
For the time being, coaches are still allowed to virtually recruit high school players. Coaches have probably used Zoom and Facetime more in the last two months than they had in their entire lives. And with signing day still on the same date, teams are still looking to fill their teams for years down the road regardless of what hurdles COVID-19 has caused.
With that, some kids have become eager to commit. May as well have a foundation just in case stuff hits the fan, they’ll say. And then there are those who just can’t see themselves making such an important decision with such little information. How can I pledge the next four years of my life to a place I haven’t even been able to visit, they argue.
There are no right or wrong answers. Every situation is unique. These are unprecedented times and every recruit in the country is, in a way, on their own. There are no past players to phone for advice. No one has a clue what comes next, what’s the correct decision right now. And, so, these 17- and 18-year old kids have to do what they think is best in the moment.
To gauge a bit of the current psyche of a football recruit, Devils Digest spoke with 17 prospects -- each of whom was recruited by Arizona State -- around the country and asked them a simple question:
What has it been like to go through the recruiting process during a global pandemic?
Micah Riley (2022 four-star tight end // Bellevue, Neb.) -- “It’s a big change but I think it could help some people and hurt some people, in a way. Like I think the virus has helped me in my recruiting just because coaches have a lot more time on their hands to watch film. But there are other kids who were looking forward to a camp this season and it messed them up.
“The kids it would help are the kids who are younger and have already shown off like they had a good season and coaches were already looking. The 2022 class, I think it will help us. The late ‘21 kids who haven’t got all their scholarships yet, I think that’s who it will hurt.”
Brody Crane (2021 three-star center // Santa Margarita, Calif.) -- “(I planned spring visits to) those schools that I felt mutual interest back. I think I had enough of those to where I didn’t have to worry about going to schools that weren't even talking to me. So it was cool to have those options. But obviously, it worked out but I think there’s still plenty of time in the future.”
Tommi Hill (2021 three-star wide receiver // Orlando, Fla.) -- “It’s tough, but coaches are still reaching out and trying to get me on campus (for visits when schools start to open up). I appreciate that.”
Robert Jackson (2021 three-star defensive end // Warminster, Pa.) -- “For me, it’s good and it’s bad. It’s bad that I don’t get to go out and see any of the schools that I wanted, that I don’t get the experience of going on visits and all that. And then it’s good because the online stuff really helps a lot. You really become closer with the coaches and all that. It’s really not that bad.”
Anthony Beavers (2021 four-star athlete // USC commit // Harbor City, Calif.) -- “It’s weird because it kind of messed things up. If you notice, (there are a lot of kids committing early) because they don’t know what’s next … It’s easy to get comfortable with one school that you’re already comfortable with because you can’t go on the road to new schools. So a school can only pitch you over the phone if you’ve never been there.”
Ceyair Wright (2021 four-star athlete // Los Angeles) -- “It hasn’t been bad. The only thing that’s affected me is going on visits. Other than that, I still talk with a lot of coaches every day.”
Nathan Rawlins-Kibonge (2021 three-star defensive end // Portland, Ore.) -- “It’s interesting, honestly. Colleges are finding new and creative ways for us to see the campus, communicate, talk. I’ve been on Zoom calls, Facetime calls with coaches. I’ve done virtual tours of campuses. It’s really interesting, definitely a once-in-a-lifetime-type thing.
“(The virtual tours) are interesting. They either made a little video or some colleges want to take you on one themselves with you on (Facetime). Even though you’re not there, you still feel like you’re there … I get to see the campus, get to see what the facilities look like.”
D’Marion Alexander (2021 three-star linebacker // Minnesota commit // China Spring, Texas) -- “It’s difficult right now. You’re not able to go on campus, see the coaches, and all of that good stuff. It’s been pretty difficult for me. I was supposed to have an official to Kansas from April 17-19 and I couldn’t go on that.”
Keyonta Lanier (2021 three-star wide receiver // New Mexico commit // Long Beach, Calif.) -- “It’s good because it’s not too stressful. (It makes things a little calmer).”
Eric Gentry (2021 three-star athlete // Philadelphia) -- “It hasn’t been really much of a crazy change. This would (normally) be the end of a dead period so I would have more time to visits places. But it’s better to just know more about the school.
“That’s what I’m doing right now, just learning more and more about schools. Instead of being there physically, I’m just there mentally, looking at their former players, graduation rates, their team from last year.”
Kyran Montgomery (2021 four-star defensive end // Indianapolis) -- “It’s kind of stressful because you can’t get out to any schools. You don’t know who is really into you and who isn’t. You just have to base it off the phone (calls). It’s an interesting situation.”
Aaron Dumas (2021 running back // El Paso, Texas) -- “A lot of schools think I’m smaller than what I really am. Some schools have me listed at around 5-foot-7, 5-foot-8 … but I grew like an inch or two since (I was measured last year).
“So, it’s harder because schools want to see me (in-person) and see how I size up to their other guys they have already, so that’s just one thing that’s been hurting me. But if a school really wants to see you, they’re going to find a way to get you. I really don’t find it (COVID-19) as an excuse to not go after a kid”
Caleb Banks (2021 three-star defensive end // ASU commit // Southfield, Mich.) -- “It played a big part (in my recruiting), because I was actually going to take three officials to my top three schools (ASU, Kentucky and Michigan State). I wasn't able to, so I had to make the best decision for me, which was Arizona State.”
Finn Collins (2021 three-star quarterback // ASU commit // Calabasas, Calif.) -- “I never thought this was going to be going on right now. This is definitely not how I pictured myself committing to a school … You feel like it would be (weird to commit to a school you never visited), but just how close I was to the staff and how comfortable me and my family felt, it just felt right.”
Krew Jackson (2021 three-star safety // Queen Creek, Ariz.) -- “It’s been tough to not take some visits after I planned on it in the spring. Other than that, it hasn’t been too bad. I’ve still been able to call coaches, text coaches. So, nothing too different other than missing out on a few visits. I mean, it sucks but nothing terrible, honestly.”
Bentley Redden (2021 three-star tight end // San Clemente, Calif.) -- “It’s definitely different because, obviously, we’re not having face-to-face interactions with the coaches. And we don’t have spring practices at our high schools so coaches can’t see that.”
Terrance Ferguson (2021 four-star tight end // Littleton, Colo.) -- “It’s weird because you can’t get out to see anywhere. It feels like an extended dead period. But a lot of the coaches, I feel like, are recruiting more right now because they have a little more free time. I think they’re building more relationships.”
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