Feb 04, 2021

Missouri Western football has 'no scholarships' for 2022, pandemic impact not over

Posted Feb 04, 2021 5:15 PM
MWSU football coach Matt Williamson talked about the challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic brought to college recruiting Wednesday. Photo by Tommy Rezac.
MWSU football coach Matt Williamson talked about the challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic brought to college recruiting Wednesday. Photo by Tommy Rezac.

By TOMMY REZAC

St. Joseph Post

National Signing Day, and the overall recruiting process for the 2021 signing class, looked very different this year than in previous years.

COVID-19 caused a stoppage of spring practices and games for all high school and college athletes across the country in 2020.

While many teams were able to play at least partial seasons in the fall, the impacts of the pandemic are still being felt across collegiate sports.

"It was very different this year," Missouri Western head football coach Matt Williamson said. "Just the whole process of recruiting when the U.S. and the world came across COVID. Just jumping into all of the different protocol and parameters that came with that, it made it very challenging on the recruiting end."

Despite the challenges, Missouri Western signed 29 football players to its 2021 class Wednesday. Williamson said one of the biggest differences this year, besides no in-person visits, was the speed in which athletes committed.

Last year, about half the Griffons' 2020 signing class was verbally committed by Christmas. This year, about 95 percent of the commits pledged Missouri Western prior to Thanksgiving.

The 2022 class will look even more different - for everyone. Due to COVID-19 having such a severe impact on so many seasons, the NCAA ruled that Division I and II fall and winter athletes are granted an extra year of eligibility.

NAIA fall and winter athletes, along with all Division III and junior college athletes, were granted an extra year as well.

Due to this change, Missouri Western will likely not have any open scholarships for their 2022 signing class, and they won't be alone.

"There's no scholarships next year," Williamson said. "It's scary. I've talked about it a little bit and a lot of people haven't brought it up, but we're graduating six seniors who are not on our books. Everyone else is back. Across the nation, everyone is going to feel that."

Williamson said the Griffons' 2022 signing class could be as small as five or six players.

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