How Louisville football continues to thrive in recruiting during travel bans

The Louisville football staff appears to be ahead of the curve when it comes to showcasing its campus and facilities during social distancing.

For college coaches, recruiting players from across the country is challenging enough. But for Louisville football, things can become even more difficult when trying to recruit against elite programs during an unprecedented time of social distancing.

With travel bans in effect, more well-known programs are still going to receive attention from prospects because players already know what the school is all about. Imagine being a recruit and you have an offer from LSU and an offer from Wake Forest- it’s the Demon Deacons who have more work to do in the first place. Now it becomes increasingly difficult to land big-name guys without getting them on campus.

However, if there’s a program killing the game right now for recruiting visits, it’s Louisville football.

The Cardinals coaching staff, largely in their second years with the program, have found ways to circumvent travel bans and keep recruits interested before they even visit campus.

Read more: Louisville lands next star at safety in Ben Perry

Before the Cards even had a commitment in the 2021 class, the COVID-19 related travel bans and recruiting restrictions went into effect, meaning that Louisville football couldn’t bring anyone on campus.

Within days, the staff was finding new ways to share the campus experience. When a group of players, including offensive lineman Aaron Gunn, that were scheduled to visit campus weren’t allowed to travel, McKenzie immediately took to Twitter to post a video of new freshman dorms.

A day later, McKenzie posted a short video of the team weight room on Twitter.

Two days after that, Gunn pledged to the Cardinals citing the staff’s involvement and family atmosphere as reasons for commuting to Louisville.

As COVID-19 continues to keep campuses shut down and travel to visit is impossible, Louisville is still reeling in a solid group of commitments and has a number of high three and four-star players with the Cardinals on their short list.

So, how does the coaching staff maintain communication with players and allow them to still get the on-campus experience that draws players to spend four years of their lives in Louisville?

Three star quarterback Chayden Peery spoke with Adam Gorney of Rivals and gave some intel on what it’s like to meet with the Louisville staff from across the country.

"“Louisville did it on Google Maps so I was walking through the campus almost and they were just showing pictures and they’d walk you through and tell you this is the facility and then show you videos of the facility and then go on to the next one,” Peery said.“It definitely helps because I never saw it so to be that interactive was really cool and then we could ask all the questions we had so they help a lot.”"

Peery confirmed that the Cardinals staff is on their “A” game, using creative methods to get players involved. It sounds simple, but the reception from recruits during this cycle has been overwhelmingly positive. This is a reason why.

Over the last two months, college coaches could certainly have mailed it in.

At Louisville, the staff is putting in extra work to make sure that recruits have a top-notch experience. It’s paying major dividends for the future of Louisville football.

This is a groundbreaking period for recruiting. At a time where most schools will have to make budget cuts in recruiting, perhaps the staff can utilize similar tactics in the near future even when social distancing becomes less and less of the norm.

Players could take a virtual tour first and as the relationship with the staff develops, they can choose to take the next step and bring a recruit on campus.

We often see recruiting weekends with upwards of 100 plus players. There’s no way over that time period that players are able to get a full 1-on-1 experience with the staff. That could all change with virtual visits becoming normalized, coupled with a staff that embraces social media interaction.

In a world where we are adapting quickly , the Louisville football staff is taking the necessary steps to develop a program with great players and great culture despite the tough times.