How Could an Extended Recruiting Dead Period Affect LSU Football in the Fall?
Potential LSU recruits will have to wait a little longer to visit Baton Rouge after the NCAA's most recent ruling. On Thursday, the NCAA voted to extend the recruiting dead period through the month of August.
The previous extended dead period date was set to expire at the end of July but with a spike in COVID-19 cases in some areas across the country, recruiting visits will be put on hold once more.
"The full Council and the Council Coordination Committee will continue to review the recruiting dead periods on a regular basis," the NCAA's announcement read. "A dead period precludes all in-person recruiting. Phone calls and correspondence can continue to occur."
With the NCAA's decision now to extend the dead period to the week before the college football season kicks off, it begs the question of whether or not recruits will be allowed to visit various campuses at all this fall. LSU's first game against UTSA is set for Sept. 5 and as the dead period continues to be pushed back, the timelines of when these prospects, particularly in the 2021 class, need to make a decision remains unchanged.
Some 2021 recruits have told LSUCountry over the last few months they were holding off making a commitment decision because they haven’t been able to visit Baton Rouge. For a select few prospects, they haven't been able to visit any of the top schools they're considering.
It's an unfair position these recruits are being put in but if the dead period extends into the college football season, it will make for some difficult decisions.
With the early signing period looming on Dec. 16, the pressure of finding a school within that time frame will mount for some lower level prospects. Other big name prospects could just wait until the spring if recruiting doesn't open back up this fall.
The extended dead period will affect the way college programs handle their recruitment process as well. In the immediate aftermath of the coronavirus shutting down not just the recruiting world, but the sports world in general, coaches were able to put a primary focus on recruiting through Facetime, virtual tours and zoom meetings.
But the 2020 season is right around the corner and simply put, coaches will have a tough time keeping up with all of the Facetime and zoom meetings with various recruits and preparing for games during the week. It's why getting recruits to campus for visits is so meaningful.
Even if the players are only able to spend a few minutes with Orgeron and the coaching staff, the experience they get with a full weekend of watching practice, touring the facility and actually being at an LSU football game is an experience that leaves a lasting impression.
Some LSU commits, like quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, have taken it upon themselves to help the Tigers in their recruiting efforts in the months since making their commitments to the program official.
"Being a quarterback, you're almost like a step down to the coaching staff recruiting wise. They kind of tell you who we're looking at, who to go after so that's a lot of fun,” Nussmeier said. “Trying to help guys come play with us and we have a really good core of commits right now who do a great job of reaching out to guys. It's paying off and I think we're gonna come out with a really, really big class."
At the end of the day, these high school athletes want to see the campuses they could walk, the facilities they could use and the fields they could play on in their college careers.
Deciding where to go to college is a big decision for any college student, not just an athlete. But in these uncertain times, a lift of the dead period doesn’t feel like it’s on the horizon.
