CHANDLER, Ariz. — With time off the road and away from the football field, college coaches are focusing even more on recruiting.
But, different times call for different methods in college recruiting. There’s more time spent on the phone and now Zoom calls between players and coaches.
“It was awkward at first, but they’re actually pretty cool,” said Chandler defensive lineman and linebacker Brandon Buckner. “Once you get it rolling, it just comes normal.”
It’s not just the methods that have changed, it’s also the amount of time that goes into the process. Chandler head coach, Rick Garretson, is answering about eight to 10 phone calls per day from college coaches.
“In general, it’s very different,” said Garretson. “That really is going to happen more in May when they’re coming through the days and time frames they’re allowed to come through. That’s changed. The whole thing is they have time to really sit down and evaluate players now, and I think it’s really benefited our kids.”
“I’ve been talking to a lot of coaches every day or every other day,” said Buckner. “It’s definitely helping us as athletes just trying to get ourselves out there and make a name for ourselves.”
Chandler has seen offers pour into its football program. They’ve had about 40 of them given to nine different players in just the last couple weeks. Garretson expects even more to come.
The biggest change the head coach has seen is the offers from the other side of the country. Chandler players have received offers from schools like Furman out of South Carolina, Coastal Carolina out of North Carolina, Tulan in New Orleans, and Western Kentucky, to name a few.
“That’s been very different from the past,” said Garretson.
In-state schools are showing interest too, Chandler’s Buckner and running back Eli Sanders are among a handful of players that have offers from both the University of Arizona and Arizona State.
“ASU offered me about two to three weeks ago,” said Sanders. “It was a great call with Coach Aguano and I’m very blessed that he did that.”
In the end, what players have on film is more important now than ever.
“We tell the kids their resume is their film and it’s out there,” said Chandler.
Chandler already has 14 players in the class of 2021 and 2022 with scholarship offers to play football.
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