They’re twins and two of SC’s top prospects. How coronavirus has affected recruiting
Joshua and Jordan Burrell had a busy spring and summer mapped out.
The twin brothers and Blythewood High School football standouts were looking forward to their final spring football practice, working out with their teammates in the weight room and making several visits as they look to narrow down where they will play college football.
The Burrells visited Florida State on March 7 and had other trips lined up over the next few months. Joshua, a receiver and the No. 3 ranked prospect in South Carolina by 247Sports Composite, hoped to get back down to FSU and also wanted to visit Virginia Tech, Louisville and Vanderbilt.
Jordan, a defensive back and the No. 21 prospect in the state, hopes to camp and visit Louisville as well as make a trip to Temple.
But the coronavirus pandemic has changed college prospects’ recruiting timelines.
Schools have been closed in South Carolina since mid-March and the spring sports seasons were wiped out. Training for the fall sports season will be allowed in the coming weeks, but the exact details and starting dates are up to each school or school district.
Meanwhile, the NCAA has announced no recruiting visits through July 31.
“Whole recruiting game has definitely changed,” Joshua Burrell told The State. “Since we don’t have any visits, they are doing a lot of contact by FaceTime, Zoom calls and making sure they are in front of us so we don’t forget about them.”
With schools not letting recruits onto their campus, they are getting creative in their approach. On-campus visits have been replaced by virtual ones. Joshua said he took a video tour with Louisville recently. He also has been playing the Madden video game with Florida State offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham.
There also have been a spike in commitments from rising football seniors. According to USA Today, more than 600 prospects in the 2021 class have verbally committed to Football Bowl Subdivision programs — that’s double the number of commitments at this point a year ago.
Half of the players ranked in 247Sports for SC have verbally committed to schools, including Chapin’s Thornton Gentry who announced his choice Thursday.
The Burrells hoped to announce their college choices before the season but Joshua made his decision sooner than expected when he picked Florida State on Friday evening.
Jordan will announce his college choice at a later date. They still plan on enrolling at their respective colleges in January.
Originally, the two brothers hoped to go to the same college, but that thinking has changed. Playing at the same place would be a lot easier on their parents and would be fun because the two are very close.
A lot more factors will determine where they play in college, they said.
“Their opinion (parents) is important and they want us to be happy with it, whether being together or not,” Jordan Burrell said. “I just want the best fit for me and where I am comfortable. I don’t want to have any regrets. I want to make sure I’m 100 percent with it.”
“Our parents want us to stick together if we can, but they just want us to be happy,” Joshua Burrell said. “We just want the best fit where we can succeed at, a spot that will benefit us on and off the field, that will make us the best student and best athlete. We want a spot to fit in and grow as much as possible.”
The Burrells are coming off big junior seasons. Joshua led the team with 57 catches for 950 yards and 11 touchdowns. Jordan was second on the team with 102 tackles.
Both have done their best to stay in shape over the last two months by working out with each other and on Zoom workouts with the rest of the Blythewood football team. Jordan said he also has watched a lot of highlights and film on some of his favorite defensive backs, including the New York Jets’ Jamal Adams and LSU’s Grant Delpit.
“It is not hard to stay driven,” Jordan said. “The thing I miss the most is the locker room. When we all get back together, it will be like a family reunion.”
“Not tough to stay motivated when you have goals in mind and want to be the best you can be. Staying motivated is pretty easy,” Joshua said.
This story was originally published May 29, 2020 at 11:04 AM.
