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FALL UPDATE: THE BIG PICTURE

Rob Harrington
robharrington@prepstars.com
September 16, 2011

While visits of the official, unofficial and in-home variety continue to occur throughout the country — and as more and more commitments accrue — the weekend is a good time to examine the state of recruiting from a broader perspective, particularly given that the spring events are just over six months away (gulp!).

Relief may be on the way for college coaches. Frustrated by the NCAA prohibition against live events in April, coaches are encouraged by a recent NCAA proposal to open two April weekends next year. The organization barred coaches from attending spring events beginning in 2009, and during the three most recent recruiting cycles, their absence exerted a damaging toll on the recruiting landscape.

The NCAA’s ostensible goal by implementing the ban was to reduce the influence unsavory characters have enjoyed in the grassroots arena. But the only way the ban would have worked was to end the events themselves, which didn’t happen. And more than merely having little positive impact, several damaging trends emerged in the ban’s aftermath.

Most significantly, coaches simply haven’t had enough exposure to the players they need to evaluate. In recent years they’ve been forced to take more gambles than ever, and the rolls of the dice that turn up snake eyes hurt not only the college programs but also the (frequently disgruntled) players themselves.

Moreover, coaches are getting to the players too late. Even if they’re able to watch them a great deal during the July period, the previous trend of making educated offers in the late spring simply has become impractical. From the players’ perspective, a high ankle sprain or other injury suffered in June could be a fatal blow to a kid’s scholarship chances. Allowing coaches to be out at least to some extent during the spring prevents an all-or-nothing July scenario for the prospects themselves.

The change back to a partially open April — tight restrictions inevitably would apply — isn’t yet official. The recommendations go to committee later this fall, and most everyone hopes to see common sense prevail and a more coherent grassroots universe emerges in 2012.

I WANT TO TEXT YOU UP

Another ill-conceived NCAA move was the ban on texting. While it’s true that some coaches will abuse any opportunity to bombard players that’s within the rules, there’s simply no way to restrict all forms of electronic communication given its prevalence among today’s youth.

And texting may be more conducive to making sense of the recruiting process, rather than receiving numerous, disruptive phone calls each day. The NCAA meant well by implementing the texting ban back in 2007, but in 2011 there’s just no place for a rule that eliminates any form of quick, electronic communiqués.

NO HESITATION VISITATION

The other major proposed change, allowing juniors to embark on official visits immediately following the national championship game, also is very popular among college coaches.

Many prospects would prefer to end their recruitments early, but financial considerations limit the number of unofficial visits families can afford to take. Allowing the coaches to invite them to campus for school-funded official visits makes a lot of sense for all involved, as obviously coaches love to lock up their top targets as quickly as possible.

Taken in concert with the potential increased visibility in April, fans should expect to see far more early commitments than has been the case the past couple of years.