As if recruiting wasn't hard enough for some prospects, the NCAA just made it that much more difficult for the Class of 2021 recruits.
The NCAA on Wednesday afternoon made the announcement: “The Division I Council extended the recruiting dead period through January 1. The Council has been reviewing the dead period on a regular basis since April. A dead period precludes all in-person recruiting. Phone calls and correspondence can continue to occur.”
The dead period has been in place since March when the COVID-19 pandemic started.
Here's a few quick reactions from some major LSU 2021 targets:
Maason Smith, who plans on announcing and signing in December: "I think it isn't fair for athletes that are graduating mid-term."
Tristan Leigh, who was just in Baton Rouge for back-to-back weekends: "In shock, for real. It's going to make things a lot more difficult."
Andrew Mukuba, the Texas safety who will be making his decision soon: "It sucks, but it's the right thing to do. Stay tuned this weekend."
Sage Ryan, who just released his top three of LSU, Alabama and Clemson, will be committing sooner rather than later due to the NCAA dead period extension. He said, "It's gonna be depend on me and my decision and where I fit in best and where my future is gonna take me. ... A big part of my commitment will depend on if I can make visits. Hopefully, we can visit and then after taking all three of my visits, I'm committing. No more waiting."
Here's what a few recruits said on Instagram...
Ryan said: "Ruin(ed) everything bruh, now I'm (going to) have to commit blindfolded."
LSU commitment Naquan Brown said: "Just dumb."
Alabama commit and Louisiana native Kaine Williams: "It's crazy (because isn't)the 2nd of January the enrollment for early grads(.)"
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Additional notes on the four prospects above...
-- As I previously stated, I'm around Maason Smith pretty frequently because I'm filming a docu-series on him this fall. I'll be catching up with him in-person again soon, but I know he's not too happy with NCAA decision. He really wanted to take his officials and get the full experience at as many places as possible. Not sure just yet if he plans on taking trips on his own again or not, but I still think this comes down to LSU and Georgia. My FutureCast is in on LSU and that's where it's going to stay.
-- Tristan Leigh was hoping to take trips to Oklahoma and Clemson for sure, his mom told me, along with LSU and Ohio State, I'm believe. The last I checked he has not decided when he'd be signing because his state isn't playing football until spring, so he could wait to see if visits open up in 2021. I don't expect him to graduate mid-term because he wants to play his senior season in the spring.
-- Andrew Mukuba is one of the most sought-after safeties in the 2021 class. He's going to be committing sooner rather than later and I think LSU might be on the outside looking in at this point with Texas and Clemson also in the mix. He has never visited Baton Rouge. He was close to riding with Garrett Nussmeier a few weeks ago for the "Tiger Turnout," but something came up and was unable to attend.
-- Sage Ryan was honored with his 2021 All-American Bowl jersey yesterday and told Sam he has a final three of LSU, Alabama and Clemson. He was hoping to get a few officials in this fall, but we're now expecting a commitment from him to be pushed up due to the dead period extension. I have a FC in on him to LSU and I'm as confident as I can possibly be that Ryan will be the next member of DBU.
The NCAA on Wednesday afternoon made the announcement: “The Division I Council extended the recruiting dead period through January 1. The Council has been reviewing the dead period on a regular basis since April. A dead period precludes all in-person recruiting. Phone calls and correspondence can continue to occur.”
The dead period has been in place since March when the COVID-19 pandemic started.
Here's a few quick reactions from some major LSU 2021 targets:
Maason Smith, who plans on announcing and signing in December: "I think it isn't fair for athletes that are graduating mid-term."
Tristan Leigh, who was just in Baton Rouge for back-to-back weekends: "In shock, for real. It's going to make things a lot more difficult."
Andrew Mukuba, the Texas safety who will be making his decision soon: "It sucks, but it's the right thing to do. Stay tuned this weekend."
Sage Ryan, who just released his top three of LSU, Alabama and Clemson, will be committing sooner rather than later due to the NCAA dead period extension. He said, "It's gonna be depend on me and my decision and where I fit in best and where my future is gonna take me. ... A big part of my commitment will depend on if I can make visits. Hopefully, we can visit and then after taking all three of my visits, I'm committing. No more waiting."
Here's what a few recruits said on Instagram...
Ryan said: "Ruin(ed) everything bruh, now I'm (going to) have to commit blindfolded."
LSU commitment Naquan Brown said: "Just dumb."
Alabama commit and Louisiana native Kaine Williams: "It's crazy (because isn't)the 2nd of January the enrollment for early grads(.)"
______________________
Additional notes on the four prospects above...
-- As I previously stated, I'm around Maason Smith pretty frequently because I'm filming a docu-series on him this fall. I'll be catching up with him in-person again soon, but I know he's not too happy with NCAA decision. He really wanted to take his officials and get the full experience at as many places as possible. Not sure just yet if he plans on taking trips on his own again or not, but I still think this comes down to LSU and Georgia. My FutureCast is in on LSU and that's where it's going to stay.
-- Tristan Leigh was hoping to take trips to Oklahoma and Clemson for sure, his mom told me, along with LSU and Ohio State, I'm believe. The last I checked he has not decided when he'd be signing because his state isn't playing football until spring, so he could wait to see if visits open up in 2021. I don't expect him to graduate mid-term because he wants to play his senior season in the spring.
-- Andrew Mukuba is one of the most sought-after safeties in the 2021 class. He's going to be committing sooner rather than later and I think LSU might be on the outside looking in at this point with Texas and Clemson also in the mix. He has never visited Baton Rouge. He was close to riding with Garrett Nussmeier a few weeks ago for the "Tiger Turnout," but something came up and was unable to attend.
-- Sage Ryan was honored with his 2021 All-American Bowl jersey yesterday and told Sam he has a final three of LSU, Alabama and Clemson. He was hoping to get a few officials in this fall, but we're now expecting a commitment from him to be pushed up due to the dead period extension. I have a FC in on him to LSU and I'm as confident as I can possibly be that Ryan will be the next member of DBU.
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