Trojans should be unfazed by Division I extension of recruiting dead period

So the Division I Council Coordination Committee met this week and decided to extend the recruiting dead period all the way to June 30. That coordinates with the current dead period that runs from July 1 to July 24, creating a dead period that will have lasted over three months this summer.

While that may seem like a big deal to some, and it is, it shouldn’t affect USC Trojans head coach Clay Helton too much, apparently.

Helton has been hard at work with his staff this spring, during an already-extended recruiting dead period, working hard with evaluations and scholarship offers to top-notch players in the state of California but also across the country. USC has received 11 commitments for the class of 2021 and three of those have come from out of state including two from Texas.

USC has built the No. 5-ranked recruiting class nationally and the clear-cut best class in the Pac-12 so far this offseason, and it only appears to be heating up. Top-ranked Korey Foreman was recently predicted to commit to USC while the Trojans have received commitments from six players since the original extension of the dead period.

While this does affect in-person visits from coaching staffs and official visits from prospects, it will clearly affect those who don’t already have top-notch recruits committed and those who haven’t adjusted to the 2020 version of recruiting a lot more.

It’s clear that Helton and Co. have already adapted and given that, this news of the dead period’s extension shouldn’t worry them too much. The rest of the Pac-12 should be worried, though.

And for good reason.