MM 4.16: The NCAA announces end to recruiting dead period

When the COVID-19 pandemic began to dramatically change the way things were done in 2020, college athletic recruiting also drastically changed with a perpetual dead period instated and the pause of in-person visits.

Those restrictions will soon be lifted as the NCAA announced Thursday that recruiting practices will be able to return to normal starting on June 1.

Back in March 2020, the NCAA’s Division I Council released a statement about the status of in-person recruiting trips for potential players and banned all in-person recruiting trips for coaches.

The committee also advised against any type of recruiting visits to campuses. As the pandemic worsened in the United States but football games went on, the restrictions continued to stay in effect against the wishes of recruits who wished to take visits.

In regards to football, there will be some new rule changes for this upcoming academic year to make up for the lost time.

The number of evaluation days will increase from 42 to 56 during the fall evaluation period and coaches will be able to call players in their junior year a certain amount of times across different periods of 2022.

This bodes well for Maryland football, which has eight verbal commitments for the 2022 class. With the visit restriction being lifted, head coach Mike Locksley and his staff can now go through with a heavy slate of official visits in June, including hosting four-star, top-100 wide receiver Shaleak Knotts during a big weekend June 25-27.

In Other News

After losing its last three games, No. 12 Maryland field hockey picked up a 4-2 win over No. 6 Rutgers.

Maryland baseball plays its first game of a weekend series against Ohio State tonight.

MLB celebrated Jackie Robinson day yesterday. Maryland softball pitcher Courtney Wyche explains why she wears Robinson’s number 42.

Maryland women’s lacrosse had a stellar defensive performance in its win over Johns Hopkins.

The Maryland men’s lacrosse attacking unit continues to dominate in the goals per game stat category.

Former Maryland women’s basketball guard Destiny Slocum was drafted by the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces.