Coronavirus puts a lot of dreams on hold, including college recruiting trips. Athletes react
The coronavirus pandemic has cut sports seasons short – and brought in-person recruiting to a halt.
For many central San Joaquin high school athletes, that means uncertainty about when or even if they’ll be able to visit college campuses before they make a commitment and missing out on fun things – like photo shoots.
San Joaquin Memorial running back Jordan Hornbeak, Edison wide receiver Velltray Jefferson and Central wide receiver Xavier Worthy, among the region’s most highly sought seniors-to-be, talked to The Bee about the situation.
Hornbeak said trips that were set up to Cal (March 14), UCLA (March 30) and Washington (April 9) were canceled. A visit to Utah was in the works but a date hadn’t been set.
“It’s going to be very hard to lose out on these months where your allowed to visit,” he said. “Who knows if the NCAA will allow us to get that time back?”
Hornbeak wondered if the NCAA might push all campus visits to the summer. “But even then it is hard to miss summer ball because that’s when chemistry is built and you really grow together.”
He added, “It will be hard to really get a feel for each school given the time frame we all will have.”
Jefferson said he had an unofficial visit to Utah planned for April 11, but that’s put off.
“Other schools wanted me to come down, but those schools never gave a specific date,” Jefferson said.
Worthy said he plans to visit Michigan, Nebraska, Oregon State, Oregon and Utah in June “depending if the coronavirus goes away.”
Hornbeak said he’s seen in the past what other schools have done when recruits make an unofficial or official visit, and there’s ‘one thing he’s going to miss for now: “Photo shoots. I’ve never done one so I was excited for those.”
