NCAA recruiting dead period extended through Sept. 30

Recruiting just got more difficult for Utah as the NCAA announced that the recruiting dead period would be extended through Sept. 30 — this affecting football evaluation periods

It may come as no surprise to many within the college landscape but the NCAA announced on Wednesday, August 12 that the recruiting dead period would be extended in all sports all the way until September 30.

The dead period precludes all in-person recruiting, but phone calls and correspondence can continue to occur, including video tour sessions of the facilities.

Nearly three months ago on May 27, the NCAA announced that recruiting dead period would be extended all the way until July 31 — but that has now changed with new information coming in regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent spike in cases throughout the nation.

How this will continue effect the 2021 recruiting landscape remains to be seen, but it appears that schools that were able to get recruits on their respective campuses prior to the shutdown in mid-March now have a significant advantage.

This doesn't necessarily bode well for Utah, who currently has the Pac-12's 10th best class with only 8 committed recruits — meanwhile programs like Oregon and USC are flourishing with a combined 34 commits who rank fourth and eighth in the country, respectively.

Headlining Utah's 2021 recruiting class is quarterback Peter Costelli, one of the top-ranked passers in the country according to SI All American's John Garcia.

Joining Costelli is one of the premier running backs in the country in soon-to-be four-star running back Ricky Parks out of Gaither High School in Tampa, Florida. The Utes the secured their first wide receiver commit of the 2021 class when Deamikkio Nathan, the playmaker out of South Grand Prairie High School in Grand Prairie, Texas, announced his commitment to the Utes on July 1.

All three players have been named SI All-American nominees.

Rounding out the offensive recruits is three-star offensive lineman Koli Faaiu out of North Creek High School (Bothell, WA).

Defensively the Utes are led by three-star linebacker Trey Reynolds, another SI All-American nominee, and a key piece of Utah's defense moving forward.

Joining Reynolds on the defensive side of the ball are three-star defensive end Viliami Pouha out of Bingham High School (South Jordan, UT), three-star outside linebacker Jonah Elliss out of Moscow Senior High School (Moscow, ID) and JUCO defensive tackle Tevita Fotu out of Snow College (Ephraim, UT).

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