College football recruiting dead period won’t really be dead

It’s Monday, Jan. 31, 2022. That means the dead period is here – but will it really be a dead period? Or will there still be plenty of recruiting news that breaks leading up to the start of Signing Day on Wednesday?

Seasoned recruiting fans know to expect anything but a quiet three days.

What happens during the dead period?

Per the NCAA’s recruiting bylaws, “it is not permissible for college recruiters to make in-person recruiting contacts or evaluations on or off the member institution’s campus or to permit official or unofficial visits by prospective student-athletes to the institution’s campus.”

The dead period went into effect at midnight Monday and ends at midnight on Feb. 28 for Division I FBS programs and at midnight on Feb. 3 for Division I FCS programs.

Most importantly, for seniors set to officially sign Wednesday, there will be zero face-to-face contact between recruits and coaches.

Recruiters still can communicate with recruits on the phone, FaceTime and through other electronic forms of communication. But nothing replaces the connection you get when sitting in the living room with recruits and their families.

“It is a misconception that recruiting ends,” said David Kmiecik, a former sports broadcaster who now works for NCSA. “Nothing’s changed in terms of the communication that can be going on for any upperclassmen. So, Division I coaches, they can still call you, they can still email you, still text you, DM you, get on a Zoom call with you. That communication can still be going on.

“When people hear the phrase dead, they think everything is just halted. But there’s a lot of communication that can be going on, especially for the seniors that are about to sign.”

Also, during this time underclassmen prospects – recruits in the Class of 2023, 2024, 2025, etc. – may not visit schools. So, we’ll see a pause on junior day events across the country in February.

To better understand the recruiting timeline, here’s a link to the 2021-2022 Bowl Subdivision Recruiting Calendar.

RECRUITs: Today starts the college football recruiting…

D E A D P E R I O D

Division 1 (FBS) | Jan 31 – Feb 28
Division 1 (FCS) | Jan 31 – Feb 3

During these times underclassmen prospects (‘23 ‘24 ‘25 etc.)

May NOT visit schools campus.#Recruiting101 pic.twitter.com/SxeB3CWBaV

— Coach J.R. Sandlin (@JR_Sandlin) January 31, 2022

Stressful time for recruiters

The dead period before Signing Day is an especially trying time for coaches.

Most coaches are doing everything they can to seal the deal with big-time players that waited out signing during the early signing period. These players are getting pressure from every angle possible and it’s a stressful time for everybody involved.

“If you still have guys on your board – and most schools have a handful they’re still recruiting, it’s not really a dead period,” a Big 12 recruiter said. “It’s more accurately described as chaos.”

An SEC recruiter described it another way.

“The dead period is like trying to put out a fire with a water pistol,” the coach said. “So much goes on from that minute the last visitor walks off your campus on Sunday through Wednesday, when the letters of intents start coming in.

“Fortunately, the early signing period has eliminated a lot of that stress. But there are still a few big targets left on the board and it’s all in on those guys for everybody. It kind of makes the dead period even more stressful than normal. Everybody is fighting for that one guy and the clock is ticking.”

Why is there even a dead period?

It’s a rule the NCAA came up with for several reasons.

But the biggest is that the dead period is supposed to give families time to reflect internally about the decision looming on Wednesday.

They should be able to do that without coaches coming in and out of their front door.