Coronavirus pandemic takes its toll on recruiting for college football hopefuls

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COVID-19 impacts college football recruiting

The coronavirus pandemic is making it difficult for some high school football players seeking athletic scholarships.

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MOUNT DORA, Fla. — Although his high school's classes are online and athletic facilities are closed, Tyquan Wiggins has been keeping busy throughout the coronavirus outbreak.

A rising senior at Mount Dora Christian Academy who plays both football and baseball, Wiggins makes it a point to get his workouts in every day — despite the sweltering Florida heat.

Tyquan Wiggins, a rising senior at Mount Dora Christian Academy in Florida, is in the midst of the college football recruiting process (Robert Sherman, Fox News).

On the football field, he plays quarterback. While he has a big arm and can hurl the pigskin 65-70 yards, it’s his big dreams that he’s most eager to talk about.

“To make it to the league!” said Wiggins with a big smile. “That’s everything you’ve been working for your whole life. Since you were a little kid to an adult. [To] make the NFL.”

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The next step on Wiggins’ journey is college, and when it comes to football, Florida is known as one of the most talent-rich states. A 2017 study conducted by the NCAA found that 9.9 percent of Florida high school players will be recruited by Division I programs — a higher percentage than any other state.

Kolby Tackett, head coach at Mount Dora Christian Academy, says things begin to heat up in the spring.

“Normally coaches will come in in January or February depending on how that recruiting calendar is set up and they basically ask for your prospects," Tackett told Fox News. "You kind of give them a list of the kids you think they’re looking for, and then they come back in Spring football — that Spring evaluation period — and they evaluate their players. That’s when a lot of your kids get a lot of that exposure.”

VIRUS HAS NFL PROSPECTS PONDERING THREAT OF A LOST SEASON

But this year, things are different. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the spring season is canceled, the recruiting camps are on hold, and the scouts are staying home.

The result is that some high school players are no longer getting the looks they need or warranted.

“You hate it for the kids,” said Tackett. “That’s the worst part is that they’re working hard and they’re not getting the chance to showcase themselves in front of these colleges.”

Kolby Tackett (left), Head Football Coach at Mount Dora Christian Academy, speaks with his quarterback, Tyquan Wiggins (Robert Sherman, Fox News)

Wiggins falls into that category. Tackett claims that a number of schools were showing interest throughout January and February, including some big-name programs. They all intended to evaluate Wiggins in person sometime in the spring.

But that is no longer the case.

As things stand, Wiggins has yet to receive a single college football scholarship — something he needs in order to continue his dream to the next level.

“It’s kind of heartbreaking,” said Wiggins. “I need it bad. It’s what I’ve been working for.”

VIRUS SPARKS DEBATE ON WHETHER MORE PROSPECTS WILL STAY HOME

Mike Farrell, the national recruiting director for Rivals.com, says both recruits and coaches are wading through the uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus pandemic.

Some coaches are keeping in touch with recruits remotely and providing them with virtual tours to showcase what their campus has to offer.

But, when it comes to offering a scholarship, an in-person evaluation is still critical.

“Without that ability [to perform in person] it’s all film,” explained Farrell. “Film evaluation is useful certainly, but it’s really hard to take a shot on a kid based on film when you haven’t eyeballed him and seen him in person and tested him the way you want to test him.”

Farrell believes the blue-chip talents will be fine since coaches have had their eyes on them for years. But the players with less exposure, who were relying on the spring to impress college coaches, could be impacted.

With the spring football season canceled, the stadium at Mount Dora Christian Academy sits empty (Robert Sherman, Fox News)

“There have been many stories of coaches going to see a highly rated prospect and noticing the quarterback throwing the ball or a lineman who is 6’7" but a bit thin — just guys who need to work on certain things but definitely catch your eye," he said. "That’s definitely not going to happen.

“It’s definitely going to impact a lot of kids. I think you’re going to see a ton of talented kids end up at some smaller FBS schools,” said Farrell, adding that he believes the NFL Draft in three to four years could be filled with underrecruited players who panned out at some of those smaller programs.

On the other side of the coin, some teams are actually filling up their recruiting boards more quickly this year. Farrell says some players are verbally committing to schools that they’ve never even visited and chalked this up to the swirling uncertainty stemming from the pandemic.

“[Recruits] get restless,” explained Farrell. “They get worried that their opportunity will pass them by if they don’t commit early. What this is going to lead to is if and when kids can start taking visits to colleges again, it’s going to lead to a rash of de-commitments like we’ve never seen before.”

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For Wiggins, those conversations are still down the road. His focus right now is improving every day, returning to the gridiron this fall, and winning a state championship.

In his heart, he believes everything will work out.

“[Just] control the controllable,” said Wiggins. “You know you’re going to get another shot at it. So, if you ball, you’re going to get the call.”

Fox News' Nicolas Bermudez contributed to this report.