How Dead Period Extension Affects Notre Dame, Recruiting
Earlier this spring, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the NCAA enacted an emergency dead period that was slated to run through May 31. On Tuesday (May 12), it was announced it would be extended another month. The organization also noted that it could be prolonged even further.
“The Division I Council Coordinator Committee extended the recruiting dead period through June 30,” the NCAA announced. “The committee will review the dead period dates on May 27 and could extend the dead period at that time.”
The obvious impact of the dead period is June official visits that various college coaching staffs, including Notre Dame, were hopeful to have will not happen.
All 10 of Notre Dame’s 2021 commitments, plus prime targets such as offensive linemen Caleb Johnson and Matthew Wykoff, were expected to take their official visits the weekend of June 12-14. Hawaiian athlete Titus Mokiao-Atimalala had reported to BlueandGold.com that he would officially visit for the weekend of June 19-21.
In April, the Notre Dame coaching staff was proactive with planning tentative June official visits, which was smart to do. It was better to plan for them in case they happen. If they didn’t and visits were allowed, then the Irish would have had to scramble and many of their top targets could have already filled their weekends.
In the case that visits were shut down, Notre Dame merely had to cancel any arrangements planned, which were made on their own dime anyways, so it is not a big deal.
But with the recruiting dead period extended through June 30 because of the coronavirus pandemic, it begs the question, “What’s next?”
There has been a staggering amount of prospects making early decisions, many of whom have not even visited the school they are committing to. This would include Notre Dame with three who pledged in the past week and a half (graduate transfer cornerback Nick McCloud, plus high school seniors Jason Onye and Philip Riley at defensive end and cornerback, respectively).
It is up in the air for when recruiting visits will be allowed again, so it should be expected that more recruits will not wait the dead period out and lock in a spot at their current favorite school, even if they have not stepped on campus.
A side effect of this trend could be a high number of decommitments in the coming months. If a prospect is just holding a spot but then is able to visit other schools, will he open up his options?
Another interesting note is that the months of July and August are dead periods (other than the last week of July) during a normal year. If the NCAA committee decides that visits can take place in either month, it would seem plausible to believe it will lift the dead period and allow visits to occur to compensate for the current situation.
It is rare for Notre Dame to take a commitment from a prospect who has previously never been on campus, but it is adjusting to the times while also not compromising the school’s own process. The commitments the program is taking are from prospects the staff feels very comfortable with as athletes, students and young men in general.
Moving forward, the Irish coaches can only control what they can control, which is continuing to grind on the recruiting trail.
For more thoughts on the extension of the dead period, click here to read Josh Helmholdt’s article on Rivals.com.
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