NCAA Football Oversight Committee Recommends Extending Recruiting Dead Period

Ohio State was hoping to host recruits on campus during its spring game on April 17 if a quiet period were instituted, but that appears to be unlikely.

It appears that the progress that was being made towards ending the NCAA dead period for recruiting may not be as far along as we hoped.

Rivals' reporter Josh Helmholdt said Thursday that the NCAA Football Oversight Committee has recommended that the dead period extend through May 31. Here's an excerpt from the committee's recommendation:

Recommendation to Extend the Temporary Recruiting Dead Period. The Football Oversight Committee recommends that the NCAA Division I Council extend the temporary recruiting dead period through May 31 due to ongoing uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic and concern regarding in-person interaction among prospective student-athletes, institutional staff and student-athletes The Football Oversight Committee requests that the Division I Council extend the dead period at its February meeting to provide adequate notice to the membership regarding permissible recruiting activities for the remainder of the spring 2021 academic term. The Football Oversight Committee will engage in further discussions regarding the recruiting calendar at upcoming meetings.

This is obviously frustrating news for high school football players and their families around the country. It should be noted that the committee recommended the most recent extension of the dead period (which lasts through April 15), and the NCAA Division I Council instituted their recommendation. But the decision to extend the dead period ultimately lies with the council, so we aren't at the end of the road with this quite yet.

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The dead period has been in place for almost a year now as the uncertainty around the pandemic continues. If you're unfamiliar, here are the definitions of "dead period" and "quiet period" from the NCAA's website:

During a quiet period, a college coach may only have face-to-face contact with college-bound student-athletes or their parents on the college’s campus. A coach may not watch student-athletes compete (unless a competition occurs on the college’s campus) or visit their high schools. Coaches may write or telephone college-bound student-athletes or their parents during this time.

During a dead period a college coach may not have face-to-face contact with college-bound student-athletes or their parents, and may not watch student-athletes compete or visit their high schools. Coaches may write and telephone student-athletes or their parents during a dead period.

There had been reports circulating that the current dead period would expire on April 15 and that the NCAA would move to a quiet period from April 16 - June 30. But that no longer appears to be the case.

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Ohio State is hoping to hold its Spring Game on April 17, and would have been able to host recruits that weekend if a quiet period is instituted.

We will wait for the official ruling from the DI Council, but the situation is looking much less optimistic than it did a couple weeks ago.

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