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GENERAL THOUGHTS
So, first of all, let's start this off by saying no one knows what to expect or how to answer questions right now. This all just happened and it's really never happened before so it's all speculation at this point in time. We can tell you that Missouri was going to have football visitors on campus this weekend. Now it isn't. One source told me "I can't wrap my head around it...Lot easier to justify being safe then risking it and having the alternative happen."
The SEC has suspended all recruiting. That means no visitors to campus, official or unofficial. It means you don't go on the road to recruit. It means everything--in all sports--is done by phone and digital communication. You can email, text, DM, whatever, like you always have. But there is no in person recruiting, either on or off campus, until at least March 30. It is, in effect, an unplanned 18-day (and could be longer) dead period.
For football, it's obviously not ideal, but there's a lot of time left. The more interesting thing is basketball. The late signing period is supposed to start on April 15. While that could still happen, what do you do about kids like this?
There are three official visits he can't take now. Maybe if visits can be taken in early April he could cram three to five visits in and make a decision by May 20, the end of the signing period, but that's asking a kid to put everything else in his life on hold and be on the road for five straight weekends. That's not reasonable. You'd think the signing period is going to have to be extended. In my opinion, they should abolish it for this year. Starting on April 15th, you are allowed to sign. But you can sign an NLI at any point from then till August and you can take official visits as long as you can work it out with a coach. It's not fair to deprive kids of visits and gathering all the information before they sign. And, yes, it means coaches have to have visits when they normally wouldn't and alter their schedules. But, again, they make millions. The NCAA is supposedly an organization for the student athletes, right? So let's show that.
The other question is what happens to AAU events.
The entire spring circuit is up in the air. It will almost certainly be delayed and attendance (both players and coaches) will be down. It might be cancelled. Again, nobody knows. There's no way to plan for something we've never seen. The McDonald's all-American game has been cancelled. Basically, this year's juniors and the seniors who haven't signed, got the short end of the stick in this thing.
Obviously this will all continue to evolve. We have no idea when recruiting will resume. Just to be clear, kids can still commit if they want to. There will probably be some that do. But the actual recruiting process is pretty much at a standstill.
With that, here are some notes from earlier in the week before everybody's world turned upside down:
FOOTBALL RECRUITING
- Missouri grabbed their third 2021 commitment in the Jackson (Mo.) product, who was emerging as a national recruit after picking up recent offers from the likes of Oklahoma and Alabama. However, after a recent trip to Oklahoma, the in-state product chose Missouri due to his relationship with the coaching staff.
Here are some updates on other in-state targets to keep an eye on:
- Per Lutheran North head coach Carl Reed, defensive end target Travion Ford will take his first three official visits to Louisville on May 29-31, Illinois on June 12-14, and Missouri on June 19-21. Ford's final two official visits will be determined at a later date. The four-star prospect was last on Missouri's campus back in January.
- The Washington (Mo.) tight end picked up an offer from Missouri during Saturday's visit and quickly put the Tigers among his top four schools, including Arkansas, Kansas, and Kansas State. Read what the in-state product had to say about his weekend Missouri visit here.
- The East St. Louis QB target was scheduled to make a return trip to Missouri this weekend, but the Coronavirus threat has halted any impending recruiting plans for SEC schools moving forward. However, Macon appears to be the Tigers' top quarterback target and could commit to Missouri at anytime.
- The three-star, interior offensive line target was impressed with his unofficial visit to Missouri over the weekend, so much so that he intends to return with his whole family for an official visit. Penn State, Florida State, and Auburn are other schools standing out to the Georgia product. For more on Estes and his visit, click here for our story we posted earlier this week.
- Missouri also got a visit earlier this week from a top-rated specialist. Foley is ranked as the No. 58 kicker and No. 13 punter in the country according to Kohl's Kicking. Arkansas, Kansas State, Princeton, South Dakota State are other schools that are showing interest currently.
GENERAL THOUGHTS
So, first of all, let's start this off by saying no one knows what to expect or how to answer questions right now. This all just happened and it's really never happened before so it's all speculation at this point in time. We can tell you that Missouri was going to have football visitors on campus this weekend. Now it isn't. One source told me "I can't wrap my head around it...Lot easier to justify being safe then risking it and having the alternative happen."
The SEC has suspended all recruiting. That means no visitors to campus, official or unofficial. It means you don't go on the road to recruit. It means everything--in all sports--is done by phone and digital communication. You can email, text, DM, whatever, like you always have. But there is no in person recruiting, either on or off campus, until at least March 30. It is, in effect, an unplanned 18-day (and could be longer) dead period.
For football, it's obviously not ideal, but there's a lot of time left. The more interesting thing is basketball. The late signing period is supposed to start on April 15. While that could still happen, what do you do about kids like this?
There are three official visits he can't take now. Maybe if visits can be taken in early April he could cram three to five visits in and make a decision by May 20, the end of the signing period, but that's asking a kid to put everything else in his life on hold and be on the road for five straight weekends. That's not reasonable. You'd think the signing period is going to have to be extended. In my opinion, they should abolish it for this year. Starting on April 15th, you are allowed to sign. But you can sign an NLI at any point from then till August and you can take official visits as long as you can work it out with a coach. It's not fair to deprive kids of visits and gathering all the information before they sign. And, yes, it means coaches have to have visits when they normally wouldn't and alter their schedules. But, again, they make millions. The NCAA is supposedly an organization for the student athletes, right? So let's show that.
The other question is what happens to AAU events.
The entire spring circuit is up in the air. It will almost certainly be delayed and attendance (both players and coaches) will be down. It might be cancelled. Again, nobody knows. There's no way to plan for something we've never seen. The McDonald's all-American game has been cancelled. Basically, this year's juniors and the seniors who haven't signed, got the short end of the stick in this thing.
Obviously this will all continue to evolve. We have no idea when recruiting will resume. Just to be clear, kids can still commit if they want to. There will probably be some that do. But the actual recruiting process is pretty much at a standstill.
With that, here are some notes from earlier in the week before everybody's world turned upside down:
FOOTBALL RECRUITING
- Missouri grabbed their third 2021 commitment in the Jackson (Mo.) product, who was emerging as a national recruit after picking up recent offers from the likes of Oklahoma and Alabama. However, after a recent trip to Oklahoma, the in-state product chose Missouri due to his relationship with the coaching staff.
Here are some updates on other in-state targets to keep an eye on:
- Per Lutheran North head coach Carl Reed, defensive end target Travion Ford will take his first three official visits to Louisville on May 29-31, Illinois on June 12-14, and Missouri on June 19-21. Ford's final two official visits will be determined at a later date. The four-star prospect was last on Missouri's campus back in January.
- The Washington (Mo.) tight end picked up an offer from Missouri during Saturday's visit and quickly put the Tigers among his top four schools, including Arkansas, Kansas, and Kansas State. Read what the in-state product had to say about his weekend Missouri visit here.
- The East St. Louis QB target was scheduled to make a return trip to Missouri this weekend, but the Coronavirus threat has halted any impending recruiting plans for SEC schools moving forward. However, Macon appears to be the Tigers' top quarterback target and could commit to Missouri at anytime.
- The three-star, interior offensive line target was impressed with his unofficial visit to Missouri over the weekend, so much so that he intends to return with his whole family for an official visit. Penn State, Florida State, and Auburn are other schools standing out to the Georgia product. For more on Estes and his visit, click here for our story we posted earlier this week.
- Missouri also got a visit earlier this week from a top-rated specialist. Foley is ranked as the No. 58 kicker and No. 13 punter in the country according to Kohl's Kicking. Arkansas, Kansas State, Princeton, South Dakota State are other schools that are showing interest currently.
