Recruiting never stops and it's easy to miss the top stories day-to-day. Recruiting analyst Greg Smith recaps all things Nebraska recruiting news, analysis and more so you never miss a thing.
Now that the season is just around the corner and fall camp is starting up across the country, what better time to talk about the recruiting calendar? A video was going around over the weekend of Texas coach Tom Herman and Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher on a panel at the Texas High School Coaches Association Convention. On that panel, Fisher made a point about the current setup that I had never considered until he said it.
“It’s hard now,” Fisher said. “When do you have enough family time? When are you taking vacation? Do you get a vacation? Do you cut it back? … We’re dealing with official visits in April, May and June. Every weekend there’s official visits so coaches are there. You’ve got them in December and January. You’re playing in the fall. You’ve got spring ball. Every weekend you’ve got unofficial visitors coming.
“You only get three or four weekends, when you get both days off, all year with your family. Think about that. They say, ‘Well, you make a lot of money.’ That’s all great. But you’ve got family and everything else in the world to think about. That’s the schedule we’re dealing with.”
When you think about coaching as a regular job, you really can see Fisher’s point. The issue most fans will have is that—as Fisher said—he makes a lot of money. He makes $7.5 million a season. But who’s counting?
By and large, I think the early signing period is a positive for college football. You are trading a more stressful and busy summer with early officials for not having to worry about losing some commitments if they sign in December. With that said, Fisher did have a suggestion that I would be in favor of.
“The Early Signing Period, I do think is a good thing. I really do,” Fisher said. “But my suggestion was to have it at the end of July. When you’re coming into the season, it takes a heck of a weight off your (coaches). You’re taking a big weight of actual phone calls off your assistant coaches and you can really hone down on the guys who aren’t signed in your class. That gives you a bit of time to recover during the season if you’re behind.”
There would need to be something in place to protect the prospects if a coach decided to take another job but I could see a system like Fisher described working. I don’t know if the NCAA is considering making tweaks to the recruiting calendar but finding some changes that could help everyone involved would be interesting.
Recruit Watch
>> Teddy Prochazka, a 2021 offensive tackle target at Elkhorn South, took a trip to Northwestern over the weekend.
Had a great weekend in Chicago big thanks to @NUFBFamily for the invite!! Had an amazing time talking with @coachfitz51 and @OLINEPRIDE pic.twitter.com/8sZBGkIYlV
— Teddy Prochazka I ⁶⁴ (@TeddyProchazka) July 27, 2019
>> Nebraska offensive line target Paula Vaipulu included the Huskers in his top five over the weekend.
#AG2G🙏🏾 pic.twitter.com/kFwJ1jv7u4
— 𝓟𝓪𝓾𝓵𝓪 𝓣𝓪𝓵𝓲𝓶𝓸𝓷𝓲 𝓥𝓪𝓲𝓹𝓾𝓵𝓾✞🇹🇴 (@PTV_70) July 27, 2019
>> Illinois speedster Marcellus Moore joined the Purdue class over the weekend.
Committed🚂🖤 pic.twitter.com/LCHfE3HGjx
— CELLO🖤 (@_marcellusmoore) July 27, 2019
ICYMI
>> Let Brandon Vogel explain why better would be a pretty big deal for the Huskers in 2019.
>> Jacob Padilla is back with Padding the Stats to explore Nebraska basketball’s new style.
>> Summer gains entering Year 2 is a hot topic and Derek Peterson explains how Zach Duval is the key.
Greg is the Recruiting Analyst for Hail Varsity and has covered Husker athletics since 2013. He has always had a passion for sports while growing up in the Chicago area. As he got older and had to hang up his cleats and sneakers, he realized his passion for sports went beyond just watching and attending games. He has covered many events from the Rose Bowl to championship boxing matches. If he’s not talking sports, he’s hovering over his grill. He is married to an amazing woman, Kim, and they have a dog that barks when Greg yells at the TV during games.
