By Keenan Cummings
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — College football is still on track to be played this fall, but it seems junior colleges won’t be following suit.
The National Junior College Association is expected to formally announce football will be moved to the spring, resulting in some interesting changes at that level.
For West Virginia, some of it won’t be felt on the recruiting trail as much as some schools based on how the Mountaineers treat plucking prospects from the juco level.
While many programs wait until the season is under way to make determinations on junior college prospects, WVU often offers in the spring and summer prior. Then, the coaches build a connection that spans over the next several months.
Granted this will hurt some players who emerge during the course of their seasons, but in the case of WVU, there are already a number of prospects who have been prioritized from that level. There has been talk of allowing for scrimmages and practices in order to get around the missed evaluation opportunities, but there is no question that some players will be forced to wait until spring to be recruited.
The Mountaineers have already offered a number of junior college players such as Dodge City C.C. outside linebacker Tavareon Martin-Scott, East Central C.C. athlete J.D. Martin and Georgia Military College offensive tackle Anthony Belton.
WVU picked up a commitment from Northwest Mississippi defensive lineman Nijel McGriff on Monday.
Currently, WVU is either at the top or near the top of the list for each of those prospects, but each will now have a decision to make. Given the possibility for a delay of their sophomore seasons on the field until the fall, the athletes will now have the option to wait until then or proceed as normal by enrolling at the school they select in January to start their college careers.
One major benefit to the decision of delaying is prospects now will have three years to play three at the college level instead of the traditional two seasons and a redshirt year if they elect to leave in January.
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a wide-reaching impact across the college football landscape and junior college recruiting is just the latest to feel it.
