With recruiting rules in flux, Illinois HC calls NCAA a ‘comedy’

Illinois head coach Brad Underwood says if the NCAA is going to change its recruiting rules to allow athletes to play five seasons of competition over a five-year span, he wants a decision to come ASAP.

“I will say this, if we’re going to do it, let’s get to it,” Underwood told media members, including 247Sports. “I’m absolutely sick and tired of not having any rules or guidelines what to do. This is getting to be a comedy as to how to do things.”

While the so-called “5-in-5” rule has been discussed in the past, it has come more into the forefront this year, especially as the multi-billion dollar House settlement was approved in early June, paving the way for schools to directly pay their athletes for the first time ever.

Should it ever be enacted, the “5-in-5” would prove a massive change in NCAA eligibility rules, because along with it would come the elimination of redshirts and waivers, among other things.

Underwood, and other college coaches, want the NCAA to make a decision one way or another as soon as possible, so that they can adjust their recruiting efforts accordingly.

“We don’t know how to go about our business,” Underwood said, according to ABC NewsChannel 20 in Springfield, Ill. “We’re recruiting, but not recruiting.”

His frustration is understandable. Recruiting is a whole lot more challenging and complex these days. Coaches have to keep in mind revenue-sharing, third-party NIL deals and roster construction that hinges heavily on the transfer portal and secondarily at the high school level.

At the beginning of September, the traditional fall recruiting period opened up. This means that college coaches are welcoming high school prospects to their campuses on official and unofficial visits. Coaches are also checking in on recruits at their high school open gyms and conducting in-home visits.

However, Underwood and others will likely be less aggressive with their prep recruiting, because if the “5-in-5” is enacted at some point, that could significantly alter how college programs recruit — in terms of their current rosters, the portal and also at the high school level.

Due to revenue-sharing and third-party NIL deals, money talks. Many college coaches have intimated in recent months that, aside from the top-tier high school prospects, they’d probably rather stock their line-ups with veteran college players in the form of returnees or transfers.

If the “5-in-5” rule is adopted, Underwood noted, “The transfer portal will be a free-for-all in the spring again.” That might be true, but at least with this clarity, Illinois and its peers will know exactly what they are facing when it comes to the recruiting arena.