The NCAA will lift limits on the ability of coaches to stay in contact with recruits in August. Coaches will be allowed to send unlimited texts and social media messages to recruits, as well as make unlimited phone calls. Restrictions on printed materials will also be lifted. Following the signing day press conference at South Carolina yesterday, Gamecocks wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator Steve Spurrier, Jr. was asked about the impact of these pending changes. His answer included the mention of an SEC competitor.
“It’ll change it a decent bit. Whatever they tell us the rules are, that’s what we’re going to get after and do the best we can with. There’s pros and cons to it. This past year, you get one call a week starting Sept. 1, and by the time Sept. 1 rolls around, I recruited seven guys this year. So instead of calling seven, I’ll be calling 30. As a staff, we’ll be calling 400 guys. Definitely it will change the way you recruit.”
“I think there’s going to be some more stuff this summer that the SEC is deciding on (about the rule changes). But you can mail out anything. I’ll start mailing out Fatheads (wall stickers) of our best players. I’m going to mail them to everybody. It’s perfectly legal. You can mail out whatever you want. Because we’ve got to think about what Alabama’s doing, and they will absolutely press the envelope, regardless of calls. You can send out whatever you want. Last year, you couldn’t mail out media guides. You can send out anything now.”
Let the battle of the Fatheads begin. Spurrier, Jr. also said the recruiting support staff will grow as a consequence of the deregulation. “We will probably hire someone that sits in the office and calls recruits.” But when asked if he was worried if things will spin out of control in a recruiting arms race, Spurrier, Jr. wouldn’t bite. “I’ve got no comment on that.”
