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.
As Derek Peterson said yesterday, I am not Greg Smith. I am, however, taking the recruiting notebook for the day.
May 13 is an important date for college football recruiting. No, but seriously. Greg literally wrote that for the recruiting notebook five days ago. Why? The Division I Council Coordination Committee will meet Wednesday to discuss whether or not to to extend the recruiting dead period through June. The current dead period was put in place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The group also committed to make a final decision on an extension of the recruiting dead period through June 30 at the group’s May 13 meeting,” the initial release said. “The dead period began in March to protect the health, safety and well-being of prospective student-athletes and their families, as well as coaches.”
So, what will be decided? Maybe another decision that was just made will shed some light. The National Junior College Athletics Association (NJCAA) made the decision on Tuesday to lift the in-person recruiting dead period starting Friday, May 15.
Official statement regarding the @NJCAA recruiting ban in regards to COVID-19 ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/ERvVYodcOe
— NJCAA (@NJCAA) May 11, 2020
It’s worth noting that it’s not a free-for-all at this point. Individual regions are still allowed to implement rules and restrictions that follow state and local regulations. From there, it’s up to the colleges on an individual level to decide what to enforce based on those rules and restrictions.
The NCAA has banned all team activities unti June 1. That could be extended—it has twice already—but it seems like NCAA president Mark Emmert is leaning toward the NJCAA’s way of handling things and leaving the final decision to each university.
"I suspect that people are going to have to make decisions sometime in June," Emmert said in a video released last Friday. "Maybe by the Fourth of July."
If the interpretation is correct, universities nationwide will be left with the decision to determine what’s best depending on state and local restrictions. That likely means a wide variety of re-open dates, which would create some debate on whether or not that puts one university at a greater advantage or disadvantage based on circumstances. We know how Nebraska athletic director Bill Moos feels about keeping things as equal as possible. He’s already concerned about Nebraska losing spring practices and how some programs got more time than others prior to the shutdown. Imagine if Nebraska was unable to recruit in-person as soon as other programs.
Regardless, this all could be a sign of what’s to come with the Division I Council Coordination Committee on Wednesday. It seems likely that some level of the restrictions will be lifted. If the committee moves to ease restrictions, will Nebraska coaches be able to get back on the road for in-person meetings right away?
Yes, May 13 is an important date for college football recruiting. It’s a day that certainly won’t answer every question, but it’ll likely give us some idea of what to expect going forward. Stay tuned.
Recruit Watch
>> Nebraska offered 2023 lineman Olaus Alinen on Tuesday. Alinen lists himself as an offensive tackle on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/alinen_olaus/status/1260308928489033734
>> Another 2023 offer for Nebraska, but this one went to wide receiver Adam Hopkins.
https://twitter.com/KingKosaTv/status/1260246645037465602
>> Jaden Mangham, a 2022 athlete from Wylie E. Groves High School in Michigan, also picked up a Nebraska offer on Tuesday.
I’M BLESSED TO RECEIVE AN OFFER FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA #Huskers #GBR pic.twitter.com/cANDa1POlN
— JadenMangham1 (@JadenMangham) May 12, 2020
>> Defensive end Tyson Ford placed Nebraska in his recently released top seven list.
https://twitter.com/T_Too_Cold/status/1260280847963480071
ICYMI
>> There is an artform to those offer tweets you see from recruits. Seriously.
>> Nebraska basektball picked up a commit for the 2020 class early Thursday morning.
>> Nebraska football also picked up a commitment on Monday: punter Daniel Cerni.
>> Fred Hoiberg shared some of his knowledge with coaches at all levels as part of the National Association of Basketball Coaches webinar series on Monday. Jacob Padilla tuned in. (Premium)
