Blue Raider Recruiting Adjusting to COVID-19

Spring and early summer are of vast importance in the football recruiting calendar for all college programs. Coaches usually scour the country meeting with prospects and high school coaches in an attempt to get a face-to-face feel for which players are interested in their schools and which players they should heavily target.

GoMiddle spoke with Eli Miller, Director of Player Personnel for the MTSU football program about how the Blue Raider coaches are adjusting to COVID-19 and how they plan to move forward now that social distancing is easing across the country. Miller has been on the MTSU staff for two seasons. Prior to that, he was on the recruiting staff for the University of Oregon, where he graduated.

Miller advised film is always the most important component to the evaluation of a prospect, but "meeting prospects in person, evaluating them in one-on-one workouts plays a big part."

Without the face-to-face contact, coaches rely heavily on phone calls and Zoom meetings with the players and their high school coaches. Miller said the coaches also appreciate that high school prospects are beginning to post videos of their individual workouts on Twitter. "I've seen kids offered based on those videos, whether it be by us or other programs," if the prospect was on the cusp of receiving an offer prior to the video.

We theorized the lack of in-person evaluation might have stifled the amount of scholarship offers the coaching staff has sent to this point, but Miller disagreed. "I think it's about the same as last year. We (MTSU) try to be very selective with our offers. Coach Stockstill wants the MTSU offer to mean something. Our strategy is to make all our offers committable," and not scattershot offers to as many prospects as possible and see what sticks. "Other schools might do that - and there's merits to both strategies."

Most coaches place heavy value on their in person camps - they feel it is the best way to get a feel for how a prospect will acclimate to the Division 1 level and their specific coaching style. As such, the possibility that camps might be cancelled this summer would place a heavy toll on the evaluation process.

"All our camps are on hold for the time being. We have not technically cancelled anything to this point. We have to play it day by day."

"The Stockstill camps are scheduled to start in early June, and the coaching staff has been given no indication whether or not the campus will be open for visitors by MTSU administration or NCAA guidelines at that point. "We're hopeful that even if we have to delay a month or so that we'll be able hold camps this summer."

We asked if the fact that prospects have not been able to take visits to campus - or the fact that coaches have not been able to do a thorough evaluation - explains MTSU's lack of football commitments (zero to date.) Miller said he didn't think it has hurt them, and pointed to the fact they didn't get their first commitment until mid-June last year after the initial camp circuit.

Across the country, the number of commitments has actually doubled from roughly 300 last year to about 600 this year, according to Miller. He theorized that kids are nervous about the uncertainty COVID-19 brings to the high school landscape. Prospects seem anxious to "lock in their spot" in case there is no high school football season this fall. This could also lead to a record number of decommitments as restrictions ease and prospects are able to visit schools in the late summer and fall.

The current NCAA-mandated recruiting dead period lasts until May 31st. However, they recently recommended the basketball dead period be extended until July 31st. No word yet on if this affects football. In the meantime, Miller advised they will continue to do their due diligence virtually. "Our coaches are all working from home for the time being. They spend each day on the phones and on their computers, talking to high school coaches, prospects and players on the current football roster." He said occasionally coaches will head over to campus, hop in a golf cart, and give prospects a virtual tour of campus. "We'll do whatever we have to do to stay competitive."