Looking Ahead At The Future Of College Football Post 2020
As 2020 comes to an end, it is hard to ignore the implications that COVID-19 has had on college athletics as a whole.
COVID-19 has affected college football this year by repeatedly extending the recruiting dead period, canceled and postponing seasons left and right, and limiting the opportunity for athletes to visit their prospective universities.
These changes have brought uncertainty for how future years will play out.
We've seen high school athletes like top QB prospect Jake Garcia move across the country to play football. We've seen a slur of de-commitment and commitment flips as well as games being canceled left and right due to COVID-19 cases within the Pac-12 and NCAA.
All this considered, the question remains, will the future of college recruiting be forever changed? There is still much uncertainty circling the future of NCAA recruitment.
Sports Illustrated Recruiting Analyst John Garcia, Jr. told AllTrojans that, "All of these decisions are sped up with less information... we just saw hundreds of kids sign to places they've never visited in December and now the next group up, the class of 2022 is basically being advised to make a final decision much sooner to 'claim a spot' on a commitment list because of roster and scholarship number uncertainty." Garcia went on to add, "Current high school juniors are even more affected than the seniors ending the process now as the lack of exposure is magnified by the potential lack of spots on a given roster."
As of now the dead period is extended through April 15th, 2021, which means that no in person recruiting activities will have occurred for over a year. If there is one thing these young athletes have learned, it is to be agile with the times and adaptable to what is to come.
[WATCH: John Garcia, Jr. Talks the Extended Dead Period]
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