Division I extends recruiting dead period

Stanford Cardinal head coach David Shaw and Co. will have to continue to wait to see recruits in person this summer, as the Division I Council Coordination Committee extended the ‘recruiting dead period’ through to June 30 this week.

The dead period was extended earlier this offseason through to May 31, an act done on April 1, and now pushed back through the end of next month. The committee will review the next step and whether or not to push back the dead period even further on May 27.

Football programs have seen the brunt of the effect of the dead period’s extension as the majority of in-home visits and official visits to campus for football recruits happen during the summer. With the extension all the way out until the end of June, that gives very little time for head coaches and their staffs to get to recruits homes during the end of July, and gives less time for recruits to get to campuses before school starts this fall (if they do in fact start at all). July 1 through July 24 is already the ‘usual dead period’ for FBS programs.

However, for Stanford, the dead period’s extension is less likely to affect Shaw’s plans than most Power-5 schools. Shaw has the benefit of his already rigorous ‘no early enrollee’ policy, thus relegating the ‘early signing day’ period to less of a big deal say for programs who signed their entire classes in December of last year, with an emphasis on the majority of them enrolling early.

This still remains to be seen on whether or not the committee will ultimately look to adjust their schedule, and that includes whether or not they lift the ‘usual dead period’ just as much as it includes the chance of increasing it. How much of a factor this is towards actually playing football this fall, also remains to be seen.