Myles Davis ‘22
Shut downs of high schools and collegiate sports programs across the country because of COVID-19 have dramatically impacted the recruitment process. Malcolm Folk and Aiden Chavis, EA football teammates, are among those affected.
Photos courtesy of Cecilia Murphy and Brianna Bellinghieri
Folk, a Syracuse commit, says that “the biggest change in recruitment as a result of Covid-19 is the NCAA extending the dead period for in-person recruiting.” In other words, a school cannot have any physical contact with the student-athlete, whether through in-person recruiting visits or football camps, “Also, schools are not allowed to hold their annual summer football camps that [normally] create opportunities for players to earn scholarships or walk-on opportunities from these schools. Colleges are still allowed to hold virtual visits and players can send film to colleges, but it is obviously not the same.” He summarizes, “The major downside with the change of recruitment is that kids are not allowed to go on visits and talk to coaches in-person.” Folk believes that not having the opportunity to visit their potential school is definitely a major predicament for student athletes.
Chavis, a Davidson commit, explains, “I think COVID’s biggest impact, and this is especially true for team sport athletes, is the loss of healthy competition. You need context for your efforts to mean something, so I think that context changing from maybe accomplishing a team goal to being a little bit more individualistic has been tough for some. Not to mention the tangible effects on training.” He continues, explaining that “recruitment has been shifted drastically, especially for the class of 2021. The long-term effects will just be people ending up in places they may not have been otherwise. The NCAA gave these seniors another year of eligibility, and in terms of Division I, that means the scholarships and roster spots will be impacted based on who stays and who goes. The pressure, uncertainty, and lack of control have definitely impacted decision making; the school I’m committed to [Davidson] went from having seven commits one week to almost 20 the next, and I think the only reason a class fills up by mid-summer is because of that pressure to have some sort of certainty heading into a senior season that’s anything but guaranteed.”