The NCAA is allowing schools to get back into a normal recruiting routine this summer.
The recruiting world just got a little more exciting today. The NCAA announced a target date to return to regular recruiting activities, allowing schools to get back to the recruiting grind the way they prefer.
Beginning June 1, Penn State and every other school will be able to conduct on-campus evaluations and official visits and unofficial visits. The NCAA is making some adjustments to the recruiting process, at least for the short term, to accommodate those still challenged by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, including allowing waivers for on-campus evaluations during unofficial visits.
It should be noted the NCAA acknowledged some schools may still be limited in their recruiting efforts due to local and state guidelines and policies that may be in place.
This, of course, is a positive development from the NCAA. The past year has been bizarre and anything but normal, for all walks of life, including sports and the college recruiting process. Knowing that the door soon will be opened to allow recruiting to get back to a more normal routine should be comforting for prospective athletes coming out of high school. It will also be good for coaches to get back to doing what they typically do in recruiting. The absence of face-to-face interaction and evaluations makes recruiting harder for everybody.
And for someone like James Franklin, this will be an opportunity to rejuvenate the recruiting process. Penn State’s Class of 2022 is already off to a terrific start. But knowing recruiting is returning to normal makes it even more imperative for Franklin and the staff to stay aggressive and stay ahead of the curve as much as possible.
This will also be good for new men’s basketball coach Micah Shrewsberry, who takes on the task of rebuilding the Penn State program in an offseason that has been hit hard by the transfer portal. Allowing Shrewsberrey and his new staff to recruit with all of their tools available is a much more ideal way to go about improving the program.
This news comes in the same week the NCAA adjusted the transfer rules to allow all student-athletes immediate eligibility after their first transfer, regardless of what year they are as a student. Previously, student-athletes were required to sit out a full season before being eligible to play again. Now, as long as those students are granted a transfer release from their old school, they will be eligible to play immediately the following season.
See? Sometimes the NCAA does make good decisions. Now if they could just find a way to mandate multiple goal-line cameras for all football games.
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