Recruiting while we battle the Coronvirus: What should recruits expect/do right now

Written by: Billy Splain on Wednesday, March 18th, 2020

With the NCAA putting a halt to all recruiting in what should be a time that recruits would be visiting campuses, our inbox is overflowing with questions as to what recruits should be doing and what they can expect moving forward.  We’ll try to answer these questions with advice we’ve received from college coaches of every division. But first, what decision did the NCAA make?

According to the NCAA recruiting calendar right now we are supposed to be in what’s known as a quiet period. A quiet period is that period of time when it is permissible to make in-person recruiting contacts only on the member institution’s campus. No in-person, off-campus recruiting contacts or evaluations may be made during the quiet period. Due to the NCAA Statement as well as Institutions decisions, the recruiting period has been halted. This means any and all campus visits have been called off.

But on April 15 the evaluation period begins and extends through May 30, (An evaluation period is that period of time when it is permissible for authorized athletics department staff members to be involved in off-campus activities designed to assess the academic qualifications and playing ability of prospective student-athletes. No in-person, off-campus recruiting contacts shall be made with the prospective student-athlete during an evaluation period), at which point we enter another quiet period until June 22 when the summer “dead period” begins where basically no contact is allowed. Should the NCAA change the calendar, all the above changes. “We could see an evaluation period extended into July but right now we just don’t know” said another FBS coach.  Our advice to recruits, keep working and training. It’s really all you can do. We’ll keep you updated on the recruiting process as more information becomes available.

First and foremost, our recruiting tips page has everything you need for getting recruited for free. You should NEVER pay for a recruiting profile. If you already started with someone, STOP!  Get your $$ back if you  can.  If you search enough, you’ll find colleges don’t use those sites!! Watch the video in our tips page before you go any further!

Click the picture to enter

Recruits should remember this: You are not alone in this, nobody has an advantage. It’s a scary time for you, but have patience!! We’ll help you through this process. Your key to the process, more important now than ever, is to be proactive!! Train and immerse yourself into the recruiting process like never before. 

What is allowed right now?

No visits are permitted, however, twitter direct messages, facetime, text messages are allowed.  Be proactive!  Stay in touch with coaches! STAY ON TWITTER!

What should you be doing right now? 

First of all, start visiting the athletic websites of the schools you’re interested in. If you haven’t already, fill out their recruiting questionairre. While there, most list the email addresses of coaches. You’ll need those.  This is all covered on our tips page.

With the PIAA mandating no organized workouts, gyms and training facilities closed it’s time to see if you really have what it takes to be recruited. Find a way to work out. Make do with what you have around the house, inside and out. Outdoor playgyms can be very useful to improvise. The internet is full of ideas. With the weather breaking, get out and run.

HUDL: Coaches now have much more time to spend watching film. Don’t send them an inferior product. Spend time making your hudl film the best it can be! They don’t want to see easy plays. Use the guideline in our tips page (LINK ABOVE).

USE TWITTER!  send DMs to coaches if their account allows it. If not, ask them to give you a follow you. Get your film out there on twitter and tag the coaches you wish to see it.

CAMPS, WHAT’S CHANGED FOR NOW?  Honestly, we have no idea what’s going to happen with the camp season as we see it.  If the current restrictions due to the virus are eased by April 15, it could be business as usual.  Use our camps page to plan your summer, but wait until late April to schedule any camps as they could all change. One piece of advice we do have, attend ONLY college camps. Private camps are costly. Keep your costs down. D1 camps almost always have multiple schools represented.  There are some mega camps hosted BY colleges.  Again, watch the cost. If it’s more than $60 it’s most likely a private camp, unless your attending and Ivy school camp. They run around $150.  We’ll keep our page updated, Click picture:

I’m going to be honest here, and many sites try to call me out on this. The vast majority of college coaches DO NOT USE those lists sent to them by private combines and camps.  Several weeks ago a few of us watched as a prominent D1 schools coach demonstrated he he deletes all those lists. He opened his email, showed us a bunch of lists (several I recognized from twitter) and began deleting them right in front of us. If your district holds a combine/showcase for colleges, attend it!! Right now I know the CPFCA, SAFCA (districts 5/6/9), District 2, District 11 (those two being announced today), District 4 and Tri-County Football Coaches Association (D7) on May 30 are ones we are aware of right now. All those combines will have college coaches and are typically very inexpensive.

We’ll do all we can to help recruits. From our end, please fill out a free profile on Keystonefootballrecruits.com. BE THOROUGH!  We’ll be sending a report to colleges next week.

Here is some advice from College Head Coaches we’ve spoken with.  All have asked to keep names off to avoid any violations. 

D2 Coach:

“Control what you can Control! Reach out to college coaches through twitter with hi lite film from Junior year and academics! Recruiting now will be through phone and social media no contacts ! Have eligibility clearinghouse completed! (available link on our tips page) When this is over earlier recruiting visits because now college coaches will have everything completed with no spring ball ! Late summer and season ! With maybe no camps it will be crucial for evaluation to have a great senior year ! probably not as many early offers !”

FBS Coach:

“We don’t know yet, obviously a lot going on and impact in a lot of different directions. Just the obvious fact that the visit window will be much smaller, not a lot will be different. ” 

FBS Coach:

“We could see an evaluation period extended into July but right now we just don’t know” said another FBS coach.  Our advice to recruits, keep working and training. It’s really all you can do.”

FBS Coach:

“I think they should stay at home and work out from there if possible. Do push ups, sit ups, lunges, squats, cardio, etc. No reason to risk it right now. No coach is going to think you’re tough or more dedicated because you’re at the gym right now. from a recruiting stand point, I’d just make sure their HUDL highlight is on point and if they could have a photo or E copy of an updated transcript and an pic of their SAT if they’ve taken it to send to coaches. Football staffs are going to have more time than ever to review film so it’s a good thing for recruits. Since there wont be any more Jr days or unofficial visits any time soon. Make sure to sign up for multiple camps this summer so coaches can get eyes on you in person.”

We also like this advice from Neshaminy Asst Principle Neil French:

Recruits should take this time to Protect their health, Read, Focus on Academic Improvement, Appreciate their families, Critique their performance in last year’s games, Study great players at their position, Learn about different schemes/strategies, Enjoy life.

Follow Keystone Football Recruits on Twitter @KeystoneRecruit

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