PREPZONE - FOOTBALL

Report: NCAA recruiting dead period could transition to quiet period in June

Jon Santucci
Treasure Coast Newspapers
Viera rising senior defensive tackle Jamari Lyons (50) makes a tackle in a playoff game last fall.. Lyons is rated a four-star recruit by 247Sports.

The ice around college football recruiting could be thawing.

CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd is reporting that the NCAA Oversight Committee will recommend the dead period, which is in place until May 31, transition to a quiet period in June.

During a quiet period, colleges can host prospective recruits on campus. Colleges have been prohibited from in-person recruiting for more than a year because of the coronavirus pandemic.. 

More:Football recruiting: How the coronavirus pandemic impacted the class of 2021

More:NCAA football recruiting dead period extended until May 31

"I think it's highly important to the recruiting process," Viera High School football coach Derek Smith said. "We were asking the class of 2021 to make commitments without stepping on site. That’s like asking adults to buy a house without setting foot inside. That's not the smartest thing to do. You're asking kids to make decisions based on phone calls, Zoom tours and what they see on TV. That's silly."

The dead period has been extended multiple times since going into effect on March 13, 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic..

In February, the NCAA Division I Football Oversight Committee voted to extend the dead period until May 31. That means college coaches will be unable to attend any high school spring practices, which begin in Florida on May 1. 

"I really think it hurts the kids and the colleges in the same respect," said Matanzas High School football coach Matt Forrest, who was an assistant at four FCS programs from 2010-17. "There are so many opportunities high school kids are missing, but there's also so much pressure as a college coach because you have to make sure you have every box checked. There's so much pressure on college coaches to not miss and that’s why they have to do their due diligence. You have to know all the information about a kid.

"At the same time, high school kids are not getting exposure because maybe they won't get the opportunities they deserve because they can't get that face-to-face contact."

The hope is that some of these problems will be resolved with the start of a quiet period. Having the dead period lifted in June would be ideal timing as it would allow high school players to visit college campuses during the summer. 

Smith said schools are "hammering" rising senior four-star defensive tackle Jamari Lyons to come on their campuses in June. 

More:An early look at top Brevard juniors in 2022 football recruiting

He's not alone.

"We're going to be traveling," Lake Gibson High School coach Robert Paxia said. "That will be our plan."

Lake Gibson rising senior Jaylon Glover is one of the state's top running backs in the class of 2022.

Paxia is one of several coaches who likes to take his players on a college tour during the summer. The last one Lake Gibson did, in 2019, included stops at Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Tennessee and others FBS campuses.

Lake Gibson also has several rising seniors who are top recruits, including defensive back/athlete Sam McCall (Florida State commit), running back Jaylon Glover and safety JyVonte McClendon.

More:Lakeland, Lake Gibson dominate list of Polk's top junior football players

"It’s huge because most colleges haven’t seen them in two years," Paxia said. "Colleges want to put eyes on them. It's humongous for colleges to get a height and weight and talk to them."