Wisconsin Making the Best of Uncertain Recruiting Landscape
MADISON, Wis. – As a head football coach, Paul Chryst doesn’t like to be in the dark when it comes to the workings of his program. Over the last several months, Chryst – along with college coaches around the country - have seen that control taken away from them.
Having to answer “I don’t know” more times than he would wish due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Chryst is having to prepare for the uncertain waters as the Big Ten tries to figure out if a spring football schedule will work following the cancelation of the fall season, the effect on player eligibility and the impact on high school recruiting.
In-person recruiting has been banned since March when spring football practices and postseason basketball tournament were canceled and high schools across the country went to online learning. The dead period has been extended several times since then, including Wednesday when it was pushed through Sept.30, forcing schools to cancel summer camps and host official and unofficial visitors.
Wisconsin – and many other schools – have had to resort to talking to recruits over the phone or video conference, including conducting virtual official visits for prospects and their families to get a sense of what the program can offer them. It has had an impact.
The Badgers have landed six players in the 2021 class, including four-star prospects T.J. Bollers (Tiffin, IA) and Ricardo Hallman (Fort Lauderdale, FL), since the beginning of April. During that stretch, Hallman and Medford (NJ) Shawnee defensive tackle Michael Jarvis committed without having visited the campus, impressed largely by their virtual visits.
Wisconsin’s 2021 recruiting class currently stands at 15 players and is ranked 18th in the Rivals.com national rankings.
“It's our job to keep recruiting,” Chryst said, “and to find ways through this situation we're in now to still recruit effectively and make sure you find ways that the prospects can learn all there is to learn about your university, your city, your program.
Like the Big Ten, multiple states have canceled fall sports with the hope to play in the spring. That decision has altered the timelines of a number of college seniors who had looked at enrolling in college early in time for college spring football. Santa Barbara (CA) High quarterback Deacon Hill was one of those prospects but has stated he’s committed to playing his senior season in the spring after the state’s high schools pushed back their season.
“We've had a couple kids planning on coming here for spring, and they're going to play at their high school, which I think fits,” Chryst said. “It's a good decision for the couple that are doing that.”
The big thing Wisconsin and other schools have missed out on is the early evaluations on the 2022 class. Wisconsin has one prospect committed for that cycle - four-star 2022 safety Braelon Allen (Fond du Lac, Wis.) – but have been slow in extending offers.
Recruits can currently visit schools on their own with their families, but there can be no in-person interaction with any of the coaching or recruiting staff. That wouldn’t have been the case had Wisconsin had spring practices and summer camps where the staff can get face-to-face with prospects.
Admitting that every coaching staff is handcuffed by the same restrictions and limitations, Chryst and his staff are doing their best to adapt.
“A lot of our class that we're recruiting now, a lot of them have been on campus,” Chryst said, “but as the recruiting cycle kind of speeds up, there's a number of kids that you're recruiting that haven't been on campus which normally, probably would have been.”
"It might be a different way to do it, but the end game is no different. It's how do you get them to know everything there is about the University of Wisconsin.”