Would Muschamp change a basic rule of recruiting? ‘It would get out of hand’
It remains one of the bedrock rules of recruiting in college football and across college sports.
A coach might be able to intimate something about a recruit, or imply, or talk about the status of a class. But a coach and a program cannot directly name a recruit, outside a few select circumstances. And South Carolina football coach Will Muschamp doesn’t want to see that changed.
“I like the rule,” Muschamp said during the season. “I think that, knowing our league, it would get out of control. I can tell you that right now. There’s no telling what ... It just means more, that’s what we say around here.”
The conference has been part of a large-scale push in the expansion of recruiting efforts. Comprehensive video and graphics departments produce content both to catch the attention of players and often to give them to distribute on social media.
The NCAA ended up making small changes, such as allowing coaches to share prospects’ social media posts, which means every so often coaches are amplifying positive things that potential future players put out there.
The Gamecocks have a large, dedicated staff on the visual front, and they’ve been in the thick of things on the recruiting front. Muschamp is in line to post three consecutive top-20 classes, but none will end up in the top six of the SEC.
Muschamp came to Columbia with plenty of old-school recruiting chops (he promised he could sell ice to Eskimos), and he had a sense of the newer things that field has grown to demand. When he’s talking about almost anything, one can often see a level of recruiting pitch behind certain things.
And with that in mind, he sees the potential for things to spiral, even beyond how they already have.
“In recruiting, you understand what I’m talking about ... that would be out of control if coaches were able to do that,” Muschamp said.
The team has 17 official 2020 signees, plus two grad transfers. They also have commitments from four-star tackle Alex Huntley and five-star end Jordan Burch to bring them to 21 for the class with a few more additions expected.
Muschamp has indicated plans to add another running back to the class.
The traditional signing day is Feb. 5.
This story was originally published January 5, 2020 at 12:11 PM.
