[Farm93]

Odds that 2020 will be a good recruiting year for Stanford?  Very close to zero.   Not an excuse.  Not a prediction of Shaw's future as coach.  Just a reality if you look at the logistics of recruiting in this pandemic.

The SEC coaches can literally recruit by car and still spend every night at home.   
Stanford coaches don't have that luxury.   Worse, in a number of states, like Texas, a person coming from California had to quarantine for 14 days.   That COVID19 restriction was in place in Texas for several weeks.   Can we agree that type of health policy would make it rather hard for a CA-based coach to recruit Texas?

Nobody can recruit in person. The NCAA dead period was extended to July 31.

The Texas restrictions started just about the time the NCAA implemented an expansion of the dead period.   However, there were a number of hotspot schools in MA, NY, CA and WA that had already were scrubbing in person visits before the NCAA action because of actions either in their state or against travel from their state.  Boston College media types had a few pieces on COVID cancellations prior to the NCAA Dead Period announcement, for example.   

I noted "that type of health policy would"...it was hypothetical and conditional to highlight just how tough recruiting during COVID will be for Stanford as CA is likely to have policies that are a bit more strict than AL, GA or TX.

If/When we get to the other side of this extended COVID dead period it will continue to be much harder to recruit players if the players or coaches need to get on a plane to meet.  Also the parents are much more likely to appreciate a school within driving distance from home, just in case more COVID stuff happens.

I don't have a HS senior athlete, but I do have a HS senior.   Many in his local school have embraced the value of a school driving distance from home just in case COVID forces a campus closure or, worse, they get COVID.   A student with COVID could drive home with parents and have family help keep them healthy.   A student a flight away would be stuck on campus and far from the family home.

[Farm93]

Odds that 2020 will be a good recruiting year for Stanford?  Very close to zero.   Not an excuse.  Not a prediction of Shaw's future as coach.  Just a reality if you look at the logistics of recruiting in this pandemic.

The SEC coaches can literally recruit by car and still spend every night at home.   
Stanford coaches don't have that luxury.   Worse, in a number of states, like Texas, a person coming from California had to quarantine for 14 days.   That COVID19 restriction was in place in Texas for several weeks.   Can we agree that type of health policy would make it rather hard for a CA-based coach to recruit Texas?

Nobody can recruit in person. The NCAA dead period was extended to July 31.

The Texas restrictions started just about the time the NCAA implemented an expansion of the dead period.   However, there were a number of hotspot schools in MA, NY, CA and WA that had already were scrubbing in person visits before the NCAA action because of actions either in their state or against travel from their state.  Boston College media types had a few pieces on COVID cancellations prior to the NCAA Dead Period announcement, for example.   

I noted "that type of health policy would"...it was hypothetical and conditional to highlight just how tough recruiting during COVID will be for Stanford as CA is likely to have policies that are a bit more strict than AL, GA or TX.

If/When we get to the other side of this extended COVID dead period it will continue to be much harder to recruit players if the players or coaches need to get on a plane to meet.  Also the parents are much more likely to appreciate a school within driving distance from home, just in case more COVID stuff happens.

I don't have a HS senior athlete, but I do have a HS senior.   Many in his local school have embraced the value of a school driving distance from home just in case COVID forces a campus closure or, worse, they get COVID.   A student with COVID could drive home with parents and have family help keep them healthy.   A student a flight away would be stuck on campus and far from the family home.