West Virginia has 11 commitments in the 2021 class and to this point each of them have fallen under the umbrella that they’ve visited campus at some point and have a close relationship with the coaches.

That wasn’t by accident as the Mountaineers implemented a plan to only accept those pledges from prospects that were sure of where they were at in the process and felt it was the time to make the call on their recruitment.

But with the dead period now extended through at least the end of August preventing any campus visits, head coach Neal Brown and company have some decisions to make.

“I think that policy was good but now the longer this is stretched out, we may have to reassess that,” he told WVSports.com on a zoom conference call.

That’s because without the benefit of in-person visits and time ticking toward the start of the season, filling needs in a class takes more priority and that is going to have to potentially happen without that pre-requisite.

With 11 commitments, the Mountaineers are ahead of pace for this time of the year in a normal cycle but with no camp dates it makes that task trickier the more time that passes.

That’s especially true because there is no guarantee that campus visits will just automatically resume when the season is scheduled to begin in September either.

“Not knowing exactly when prospects can get on campus, probably moving back a little bit from that. I just don’t know how practical it’s going to be,” Brown said.

That has made the on-going virtual visits, where prospects are able to tour the campus and meet with respective personnel like on a normal visit, all the more important. And that is an area where the coaches have shown great improvement and efficiency as this dead period has proceeded.

“How we’re taking Morgantown, our university and our facilities as well as everything we’re doing in our program to student athletes,” Brown said. “We’re getting better.”

High school prospects are inching closer to their own seasons as well this fall, which is expediting the decision making process for some. That makes being cognizant of that and not putting any restrictions on who to take and when to take them all the more important.

“We must understand where they’re coming from,” Brown said.

The goal is if prospects can’t come to West Virginia, the coaching staff and recruiting personnel have to find a way to bring to them. That is what is happening and continues to happen as prospects make virtual stops in Morgantown to get to know the program.

“You can’t come up to Country Roads West Virginia, so we’re trying to take Country Roads to you. That’s what we’re trying to do,” he said.

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