College coaches around the nation are having to adjust their approach to recruiting the 2021 class, because not only are prospects not allowed to take visits, the coaches are not allowed to travel and see prospects play live in games, practices or simply stop by the school to meet with a prospect's head coach.
These changes have made a prospect's senior tape and Hudl links that much more important in the 2021 class.
For Rudder athlete Keithron Lee, his impressive senior tape through four (4) games has led to several new offers over the past month and interest from several other programs, including Texas Tech.
What you need to know...
...Lee holds 25 total offers from programs around the country, including a recent from Big 12 rival TCU
...the 5-foot-10, 170-pound athlete originally committed to UTSA this spring, and reopened his recruitment on September 15th
...the Rudder standout also plays on the varsity basketball team
Recruiting lately, lots of new offers: "Yes sir, I started hearing from a lot of coaches after reopening my recruitment, but having my updated senior tape through the first four games put a cherry on top for most college coaches. I had 5-6 new offers last month alone, and some bigger schools are starting to notice my play.
"Most of the new offers aren't really new relationships, just coaches that have shown interest or reached out before the season started. A lot of coaches wanted to see my senior tape, and now that they have offered we are starting to connect more and build relationships."
College coaches say: "Most coaches like my explosiveness from the slot position, and they could see me as a deep ball threat. I play multiple positions for Rudder, and even play defense on 3rd downs or whenver needed, but most colleges are seeing me coming in as a slot receiver on offense.
"A lot of coaches also like that I return punts and kicks on special teams, and they can see me doing that at the next level."
No offer, but schools interested?: "I have been hearing from coaches at USC, Vanderbilt, Arizona, Texas Tech and a few other schools. I just reopened my recruitment in September, so right now I'm all ears to every college. I am looking to make a decision soon though, probably sometime in December or January."
Visits: "I have not taken any visits, and that does have a huge effect on my recruiting process. I can only hear what the coaches have to say or show me, and I cannot go see things for myself. I would like to take some visits, whenever the NCAA allows for that.
"If I could take visits, then I would want to schedule visits to TCU, Texas Tech, SMU and Utah."
Commnication with TTU coaches: "I have been talking with Coach (Luke) Wells, the inside receivers and tight ends coach at Texas Tech. We started talking a lot more often a few weeks ago, but I had been hearing from Coach (Chuckie) Keeton since last spring. Coach Wells said that they have been watching me since last spring, and he likes what I could do and can see my improvement from junior to senior year."
Interest level from TTU?: "It seems high, and the whole coaching staff has reached out to me and let me know what they think I could do at the slot position. Our offense at Rudder is similar to the Texas Tech offense, and they could see me fitting into the slot position in their offense."
Currently rated a 5.5 three-star prospect, Lee has put up some great numbers through the first four (4) games of the season. He has 37 receptions for 723 yards and 12 touchdowns along with 22 rushing attempts for 257 yards and five (5) touchdowns.
As a junior, Lee finished with 39 receptions for 711 yards and 11 touchdowns along with 48 rushing attempts for 502 yards and seven (7) touchdowns - earning District 10-5A Division II First Team Offense honors.
