The sports world has been completely shut down throughout the United States due to spread of COVID-19, also known as the Coronavirus. March Madness, The Masters, spring sports at colleges throughout the country have been put on-hold. On-campus recruiting has also come to a complete stop as SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey announced a ban until March 30. However, it is reported on Friday all on-campus visits and in-person evaluations with stop until at least April 15 for all sports in the NCAA.
The Rivals Camp Series has been postponed which may jeopardize the Five-Star Challenge this summer. Schools are in uncharted waters with this world-wide situation.
Initial reaction
This is tough for every school on a recruiting front. The concern is the well-being of people across the country and taking preventive measures, but just considering the recruiting side of things Alabama will take a hit. The Crimson Tide was expected to host an abundance of top recruits during the course of the next few weeks with many priority targets expected in town.
Alabama only has one commitment in the 2021 class. It's been more of a perception thing than anything else in terms of Alabama getting additional commitments this spring. Alabama doesn't want to enter the summer with only two-three commitments.
Yes, other schools are halting bringing in recruits until they receive clearance, but Alabama will look a lot better right now with five or six commitments as compared to just one. Other schools like Florida-14, Ohio State-10, Clemson-10, Tennessee-7 and even USC-4 (who had the No. 65 recruiting class in 2020) are off to better starts.
Alabama is a recruiting powerhouse, so it's pretty far-fetched to consider the Tide's class will look pedestrian this cycle. The question is when will it start to take shape? Several recruits were expected to visit Alabama, but they were also scheduled to visit other programs in order to trim their list or possibly make decisions. The trips are now on-hold. Recruits will not visit during their spring break which means (at least for the out-of-state, out-of-region) they may can visit until the summer; some possibly until the fall.
It certainly puts Alabama and many other programs in a unique, unprecedented situation moving forward. Below is a list of some of the top recruits who were expected in Tuscaloosa the next few weeks.
What to expect moving forward
The wait is on to see what happens in the next month or even the next 24 hours as events continue to get canceled. It has been one of the wildest 48 hours in the history of this country. Maybe the wildest ever as it pertains to the shutdown of all major sports.
Will recruits be able to visit schools after April 15? What will the NCAA do to allow schools the time they have missed for on-campus recruiting? Official visits are tentatively scheduled to begin in April. Those visits are in danger of getting pushed back. The recruiting calendar is a challenge.
Alabama will continue to recruit. That's not going to change even with the limitations at hand. It will text, call, use social media and expect Nick Saban to use Skype for video conferences with top targets as he often does throughout the spring.
Can Alabama get a commitment during the time period? It might be tough, but the beat goes on in Tuscaloosa and across the country.
Andrew Bone, of BamaInsider.com, is also a real estate broker in the state of Alabama.
Contact Andrew Bone for all of your real estate needs; buyers, sellers, investors, developers. Property management; BoneHomeTours.com Call 205-531-5577 or click here
