For anyone who considers all the lingering issues of COVID to have evaporated, think again.
While many businesses have recovered, many still struggle. And one of the hardest hit and most affected groups has been high school student athletes hoping to move on to play college sports. The most devastating effect, arguably, has been to football.
The NCAA figured the answer to COVID was to give student/athletes the benefit of an extra year of eligibility. The NCAA also decided to change the rules for transfers, allowing transferring student-athletes to have immediate eligibility.
It’s become a frenzy. Coaches are recruiting players who are on other colleges rosters.
NCAA’s transfer portal has become big, fat joke | Commentary
Some coaches, including Dabo Swinney at Clemson, refused to bow to the chaos and held steady on a vow to stay out of the transfer-portal business. Most, however, such as Deion Sanders (Colorado) and Mike Norvell (Florida State), loaded up with experienced players who already had a taste of the college life.
No one can blame them. Rules are rules, and if you give a coach a little extra rope, well, he’s going to sling it like he’s a cowboy. If coaches can find an advantage in the big-money world of college football, the advantage will be had.
That’s where high school athletes come into play, or get knocked out of play.
Most college football coaches would rather take a player who has experience before a player fresh out of high school.
But what does that mean for high schoolers nearing graduation?
“This all really started last year, with those seniors,” Jones High coach Elijah Williams said. “We had Power 5 kids who were dropping to FCS schools, and FCS kids were going D-II. A guy like Anthony Rucker should have gone FBS, but he ended up going to North Carolina A&T.
“If I’m a college coach and I’m on the bubble, I’m [not taking a] high school kid. It’s killing high school recruiting. I think the NCAA needs to put in some restrictions, like you can only have a certain amount of transfers per year. That way you can keep the pipeline to the high schools going.”
Bishop Moore coach Matt Hedrick agrees.
“I’m sure I’m no expert on it, but I’ve had enough conversation with college recruiters who have come through our school and talked to a number of high school coaches and we all seem to be saying the same thing,” Hedrick said. “Because of the transfer portal colleges coaches, who in previous years would go into high schools and sign the vast majority of their recruiting class each year, are now getting a very small portion of their recruits per year through high school.”
Recruiting traffic has slowed during the spring, when coaches from all over the country would flock to Central Florida to scout the talent. Now, much of their attention is on the transfer portal list.
“It makes sense, because those kids are older, more experience, already trained up and ready to play,” Hedrick said, “But it’s really been difficult for the high school athlete. We’ve had some kids who I’m completely sure, four or five years ago, would have already had offers but now they don’t.”
State champion quarterback Blake Boda was one of those players affected last year. Boda led Cocoa to a Class S state championship and led the state in passing with just more than 4,000 yards and 49 touchdown throws. But he didn’t receive an FBS offer until late in the recruiting cycle. Coastal Carolina finally came into the picture and Boda jumped at the opportunity.
Colleges are limited to signing 25 high school recruits every year, but many schools are not even approaching that number now.
For the 2023 recruiting class, FSU signed 17 high school players and 14 transfers (two from junior colleges). It’s obviously working out for Norvell and the Seminoles, who are on the brink of making it into the College Football Playoff.
Florida signed 20 high schoolers and brought in 14 transfers (two juco). That didn’t catapult the Gators to instant success, but it’s obvious the Gators are playing along.
The king of them all of course was Sanders at Colorado. Coach Prime signed 17 high school players, but had a whopping 55 transfers (four juco). That’s close to half of the 113-player Colorado roster. It’s crazy, but legal, and the Buffs have three more wins than last year to show it worked to a degree.
Coaches don’t want limitations, but the high schoolers are seeing their dreams dashed. Kids are now beginning to aim lower, which is rather disheartening for any athlete. It’s not just football. This issue has trickled down to every sport.
The NCAA will surely need to do something. It’s the right thing to do to at least give high school athletes a shot at realizing their dreams. This year’s crop of prospects includes good players such as DeLand’s TJ Moore and Javon Ross; Jones’ George Brown IV, Tyrin Randle and James Chenault; Olympia’s Josh Evans; Mainland’s Ramon McCullough; Dr. Phillips’ Fred Thomas and on and on and on. They may end up settling for FCS programs.
There is nothing wrong with playing at the lower level. Loads of NFL players came out of non-FBS programs, but these players were hoping to play at the highest level. It’s no fun entering college on a disappointing note. Something needs to be done.
Could Gators lose committed players?
Florida coach Billy Napier appeared to be doing quite well two weeks ago, before the Georgia blowout. With the Gators struggling at 5-5, and no relief in sight, it’s not looking good for his current recruiting class. The Gators have lost two commitments since Georgia and have dropped from the No. 3 recruiting class in the country to fourth, according to 247Sports.
They now have 20 commitments and there is talk that Florida will lose 6-foot-3, 270-pound defensive lineman Amaris Williams, of Clinton, N.C. The big man is now considered a heavy Ohio State lean, although he has yet to decommit. Williams was offered by the Buckeyes in early October and then took an official visit to Columbus on Oct. 21.
It could be a trend as the early National Signing Day, Dec. 20, approaches.
Noah Grubbs still lighting it up
If you haven’t seen Noah Grubbs, Lake Mary’s elite sophomore quarterback, buy a ticket. The Rams face Jacksonville Mandarin on Friday night at home in the second round of the state playoffs and there are likely to be plenty of fireworks from Grubbs.
This kid has tremendous talent and he has a bevy of standout receivers in Caden Harshbarger, Carson Hinshaw, Logan Cook and Carson Friedman. Grubbs surveys the field as well as anyone, locates his receivers and delivers the ball in spots where only the receiver can make the play. His accuracy is uncanny.
Grubbs has thrown for 3,515 yards and 49 touchdowns and has the Rams thinking state title after they survived a scare in the first round against upstart Boone, winning 42-38. The Rams defeated Mandarin 36-14 earlier this season, and I’m looking for more of the same.
Hats off also to Lake Mary coach Scott Perry. The former Gators offensive lineman is one of the longest tenured coaches in Central Florida (19 seasons). He’s a great coach and his kids play hard.
Chris Hays covers high school and college football and college football recruiting. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) @OS_ChrisHays or on Instagram @OS_ChrisHays. Email him at chays@orlandosentinel.com.
