Spring evaluation period a huge part of the recruiting process

First things first, Will Muschamp wants it known that he thinks it's "ridiculous" that head coaches can't personally hit the recruiting trail during the spring evaluation period.

While NCAA limitations keep head coaches from evaluating prospects in person during this time of year, the South Carolina head coach remains heavily involved in what is an essential part of the prospect evaluation process.

"Through the month of May, our [assistant] coaches are on the road recruiting during the spring evaluation period," Muschamp said prior to a recent Spurs Up Tour stop in Sumter. "So, I'm in the office with Matt Lindsey, evaluating guys that they're calling in on, shifting our board, constantly working through that."

The 2019 NCAA recruiting calendar limits bowl subdivision schools to a specific number of evaluation stops from April 15 - May 31, excluding Memorial Day and Sundays.

Schools are allowed 168 "evaluation days" during the period with an "evaluation day," in this case, defined as one coach engaging in the in-person evaluation of any prospective student-athlete on one day. Two coaches making evaluations on the same day counts as two evaluation days.

Additionally, recruiters can't actually interact with prospects while on their high school campuses and are only allowed two stops to see a particular prospect during the spring period.

While his assistant coaches are on the road, Muschamp says he's back in the office watching film as they report back to him. He estimates that he's personally evaluating 30-35 prospects per day on film as the assistants see them in person while keeping an eye on characteristics that may not show up on tape.

"Our guys may see a lack of work ethic; they may see a great work ethic," Muschamp explained. "There may be some things on tape that we wanted to verify size-wise of how big is he, what is his growth potential? And then, obviously, we're asking a lot of questions in the high schools, talking in terms of administration, coaches, and all the people that can impact."

As the school year winds down and class of 2020 prospects are seeing their junior years come to a close, tracking a prospect's academic progress heading into the summer prior to his senior year is also an important aspect of the recruiting visit.

"You're getting right now into your sixth semester, so you're finding out a lot academically and you're making some decisions on some guys based on how they finish this last spring semester going into the summer," Muschamp said. "So, there's a lot of questions that get answered during the spring evaluation period. It's a huge part of the evaluation process."

As the coaches get off the road at the end of May, they'll take the information gained and reset the recruiting board appropriately prior to hosting 10 on-campus camp days in June.

"I feel really good about it," Muschamp said of the spring recruiting season, so far. "But I always look at recruiting as a marathon. It's not a sprint. You've just got to keep grinding away. You've got your first signing day in December and then your second signing date in February. You've just got to continue to chop the wood and stay after it.

"There's nothing to get real excited about; there's nothing to get real down about right now. We've just got to keep chopping away at it, but I feel real good about where we are."