Usually during the summer, camps and recruits flood college campuses all around the country. But in today's world, everything that goes into recruiting has been altered and coaches have had to adjust the way they recruit and get their message across to prospects.
For IU coach Tom Allen, finding ways to be unique is challenging, especially when he and his staff were getting into a great rhythm on the recruiting trail.
"Well it's unprecedented," Allen said of recruiting during COVID-19. "I'm telling you, we're dealing with new challenges. We usually do such a tremendous job of getting so many guys on campus. We did a lot of that early on, which was good. Even over the summer and having the summer visits. The official visits over the summer have become really big for us as we recruit in the south quite a bit in getting those kids up here for an official visit. All of that has not happened. It's different."
Despite the lack of visits or face-to-face interaction with coaches and families, recruits haven't kept from committing to programs, and even committing earlier than expected. Indiana has received all 10 of its 2021 commits since the pandemic started, but that doesn't mean it's been easy for the IU staff to scout prospects.
"You're just trying to find creative ways to get an eyeball on guys. Sometimes you forget about the simple fact of being able to go to a school and eyeball a kid in the spring time. We lost all those days," Allen said. "A kid is listed as 6'1, is he really 6'1? Usually they're not. Whatever they're listed as they're usually at least an inch shorter than that because of the natural, whether you're in your shoes or out of your shoes. We always want to know what they are in their bare feet. And body structure, frame, how much weight do we think he can gain.
"So those are probably the bigger things that you lose because it's a simple process you go through. It means a lot when you say hey, Coach so-and-so was in that school and he saw this kid working out in his weight class and got a chance to eyeball him."
Whereas some players have yet to even visit colleges they are currently committed to, others may continue to receive offers from coaches who haven't even seen them play live. With so many variables, keeping players committed for the long haul is something that all coaches have to deal with, now more than ever.
"A lot of kids have committed to places they haven't been to. So, people have offered guys they haven't seen in person. We find ourselves in that situation as well. It's unique," Allen said. "I think it's going to create a very interesting finish, and I guess that's the part I'm focusing on because we can't change anything about what's happened. They're not going to be coming on to campus anytime soon, so the reality is how do we finish it out and hold on to the guys that have committed and convincing the guys that haven't been here yet to come for a visit to check us out before they make their final decision."
Because of the lack of visibility for a lot of these athletes up to this point, mistakes will be made on the recruiting front. Whether it be offering a scholarship to someone who may not be as consistent as others or the right fit, or passing on someone because they haven't been able to be seen as much, the class of 2021 will be very hit or miss for programs.
"The big thing about recruiting is that you want to try to gain as much information as you can to make a decision, and that information right now is limited. I think it's going to cause people to make more mistakes in the process because you have less information to go off of," Allen said. "It is a smaller class for us, which is one positive thing because of the circumstances of having a small senior class. That's probably one positive in all this.
"I just think it makes for very difficult evaluation for the coaches and a very frustrating process for the players because they want to be seen and are not able to be. More than anything we've got to focus on what we can do, the information we do know and make the best decisions possible with that information."
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