James GordonWe are halfway through the 2017 high school recruiting season, and it’s time to get a better idea of where things stand with the early-signing period for college football being just around the corner. We already know about the top uncommitted recruits for each of the major conferences, but there are a number of players that are still working for their schools to secure their signatures.
The recruiting season is a time of highs and lows for college football coaches: recruiters meet with players, and coaches have to deal with decisions made by high school stars. That means the coaching carousel is turning; already, the University of Alabama, the University of Southern California, the University of Georgia, the University of Florida, the University of Missouri, the University of Texas, the University of Texas, the University of Oklahoma, the University of Miami and the University of Kentucky have new coaches. College coaches also make their living by recruiting athletes, and when they get to the postseason to play in bowl games, they may be tempted to take shots at players from other teams.
University recruiting was not very common for the class of 2022 due to COVID-19 restrictions. Since March of this year, there has been a blackout period for recruiters, preventing them from coming on campus. This deadline was lifted on Tuesday. Recruits are admitted again from the 1st to the 27th. School visits in June. In general, schools have started slower than they would have liked. But recruiting is picking up now, and once students get to know the coaches and campus personally, there could be a flood of commitments. While some programs will struggle this cycle, here are a few schools that don’t need to panic and may expand their recruiting classes in the near future. 
Alabama Crimson Tide. Alabama currently ranks 12th in the class, which is low by his standards. It’s not unfamiliar territory, as Alabama was ranked 23rd at this time last year. The 22nd. May’s team had only five candidates in 2021, but rose sharply in the rankings shortly after. From 22. May to the 23rd. In July, Alabama received 10 offers and moved into second place in the rankings. The Crimson Tide entered the match against Ohio State and finished the cycle ranked No. 1 overall. 
Georgia closed out the 2021 recruiting cycle with the No. 3 pick and the Bulldogs are already well on their way with the 2022 class. Top 25 Alabama currently has six aspirants in the class of 2022, five of which are in the ESPN 300. The class is led by Emmanuel Henderson, the top-ranked running back, and Ty Simpson, the top-ranked dual-threat quarterback. As usual, the Crimson Tide joins the list of the biggest names in this class that have yet to make a decision. They are five-star defender Jeremiah Alexander, offensive defender Tyler Booker, midfielder Harold Perkins, defender Shemar Stewart and four-star offensive defender Zach Rice. Rice, Stewart, Alexander and Booker will travel to Alabama in June. 
Clemson Tigers. The Tigers only have four candidates, but all four are in the ESPN 300. The class consists of two offensive linemen Collin Sadler and Blake Miller, wide receiver Adam Randall and quarterback Cade Klubnick. That total of four teams places Clemson behind 11 other teams in the ESPN 300 acceptance rankings for this cycle. But like Alabama, there’s nothing wrong with Clemson starting slow. Employees tend to stick to their own process, evaluate prospects and only make offers to those they are truly interested in, rather than casting a wide net. Recruits coming to campus will be equal parts recruits and Clemson staff. As for Alabama, there are still many top recruits in the running for the Tigers who have yet to make a decision, including cornerback Jedyn Lukus, Stewart, guard Enay White, fullback Alex Vansumeren and middle linebacker Sean Murphy. 
Florida Gators. The Gators have steadily climbed up Recruiter’s rankings over the past few years, coming in at No. 13 in 2018, rising to No. 9 in 2019, No. 8 in 2020 and ending the 2021 cycle at No. 1. 5. Florida is currently ranked 20th in the 2022 cycle with six candidates, three of which are ESPN 300-ranked. Florida is ahead of 12 other programs in this regard, and that’s down from last year at this time. The Gators were at 22. May is fifth in the class of 2021 with 14 commitments. However, this class is very different and cannot be compared to the previous class due to its limitations. Florida won’t be in this position for long and should be able to take advantage of June. With some of its top targets still on board, including five-star quarterback Walter Nolen, Booker and receiver Evan Stewart, Florida has a lot to look forward to.
Visits in June affect the recruitment schedule
With the official tours starting Tuesday, a Power 5 employee compared the first weekend of tours to Disneyland’s opening day, which will benefit many potential visitors this month. In a normal year, recruits can make official visits in the spring and fall, but the dead period created allowed no visits. These 2 022 prospects will no longer be able to accept visits after February 2020. Now that the dead recruiting period is over after 15 months, Ryan Day and the Buckeyes will receive 51 official visits in June, more than during the normal recruiting cycle, according to Ohio State personnel director Mark Pantoni. Joseph Majorana-USA TODAY Sports I talked to our coaches about it. It’s like we put all our assets on the line in June, because a lot of these guys might not be back until December, Ohio State recruiter Mark Pantoni said. So there’s still a long way to go, and this experiment could lose its luster, and many of the top players we’re currently chasing will be visiting us every weekend for the next four weeks. With many recruits going on official visits in June, some coaches believe there will be fewer official visits than normal during the season. With that in mind, the coaches are preparing, as Pantoni said, because June is a great opportunity to impress and possibly garner support. This is a problem for the school if it did not get the participation it was hoping for, if it was the first school the potential candidate attended, or if another school bankrupted it. Will a top prospect who could go to college the first weekend and then take three more trips feel the same way about Ohio State? Pantoni asked. Because apparently the red carpet is being rolled out everywhere. So all we have to do is do a good job and stay in touch after the visit. Hopefully this will encourage some of these kids to come to the game unofficially, and in many cases we can do that. Most prospective students have already scheduled their visit for June. Teachers have been preparing for weeks to welcome a large number of future students to campus. However, they are trying to balance the number of people who want to visit the university in 2022 with the number of people who want to come on unofficial visits in 2023. Pantoni said Ohio State encourages freshmen to attend school during the week, leaving weekends free for coaches to make 2,022 official visits. 2 Connected Pantoni estimates that Ohio State will receive 51 official visitors in June, compared to the usual 40-50 visitors during the year. Official visits by recruits in June aren’t so bad, though, because it gives coaches more time to talk to them and build relationships. Whether it was in the summer or after the season, I think that’s where we had the most success, Pantoni said. When these kids go to games, many of these schools have very impressive home games because they pick the biggest games they go to. So, all things being equal, I don’t think the game day experience outweighs the relationships with our players and coaches. Add to that the fact that coaches are taking prospects to camps in June 2023 to try and get an in-person evaluation, and it’s going to be a busy month for everyone involved.
World’s Most Interesting Rookie
If he were old enough, Addison Nichols might star in a beer commercial for the most interesting man in the world. Nichols is a 6-foot-3, 301-pound offensive lineman from Greater Atlanta Christian School in Norcross, Georgia. He is ranked 111th and the best schools in the country are chasing him. It’s what Nichols does off the field that sets him apart from the average ranked recruit. Nichols taught himself to play piano, ukulele and guitar. He has a second degree black belt in taekwondo, which his parents Brian and Missy signed him up for when he was in elementary school because they thought it would help develop his flexibility and coordination. 
The quarterback may be the first, but there are five defensive players in the top six recruits in the 2022 class. Full list from ESPN 300 He started playing golf when he was three years old and now, as a teenager, he can hit the ball 300 yards off the tee. He took a short break from golf, but decided to return to the team this season to try and play competitive golf one last time in high school. It’s hard to go from aggressive football to sophisticated golf this year, Bryan said. When he was younger, he competed in tournaments and such, but now he has a hard time slowing down his momentum and not going over the top. He can hit over 300 strokes from the tee and everyone loves that, especially in the scrambles. Nichols is also a discus thrower on the high school track team and hopes to do the same in college. As a child he played basketball, and in grade school Boy Scouts was added to his growing list of activities. He continued in the Boy Scouts and was named an Eagle Scout last year. Cub Scouts is like spending time with your dad: You tinker with it, but when you go through Boy Scouts, you have to do merit badges, said Nichols, who has a GPA of 3.77, has done volunteer work and home repairs at his church and has been a part-time employee of Kroger since 2018. You need to go for a walk and a hike. It was really a lot of work, especially at the end, when I did my Eagle Scout project and all the rest. Things like that don’t happen overnight. That work and dedication outside of football has been noticed by college coaches so far in his recruitment. His five favorite schools are Florida, Georgia, Ohio State, Tennessee and UCLA, but he is also considering other schools, including North Carolina and Virginia. College coaches have made his off-field performance a topic of conversation, even using it as a cohesion tool in some cases. Mack Brown of North Carolina said he was an Eagle Scout when he practiced virtually with him, and it brought him closer, Brian said. Coach Mullen of Florida knew about Addison, but we went over it and he said: I liked you before, but now I really like you. Many of them got involved and realized how much effort and dedication was needed.
James Gordon
