Kirby Smart's Complaints About Recruiting Rules During COVID-19 Pandemic Are Spot on But Ring Hollow

If anyone is qualified to speak about the state of recruiting during the COVID-19 pandemic, it's Kirby Smart.

The Georgia Bulldogs' coach is working from behind in the 2021 class, as the Dawgs rank lower than top schools like Clemson and Ohio State in the chase for the best prospects a few years down the line. Smart, in particular, has had a tough time closing the gap with the lack of in-person contact.

"There are a lot of kids in the 2021 class who are already fed up with it," Smart said Thursday on the Paul Finebaum Show. "Because when you think about it, Paul, the recruiting has ramped up because we're not really spending any time with our players because they're not on campus. You talk to a 2021 prospect right now, he's averaging about 10 to 15 calls a day and he's about fed up with it. So a lot of those kids are going to make their decisions maybe a little sooner than anticipated." 

Smart is absolutely right here. It's already tough enough for high school prospects to make up their minds on one college program. To ask this much of them is unfair.

Despite all of this, though, there's not much that can be done. Players and coaches must adapt, and Smart will in due time. The NCAA cannot relax these rules or else they put coaches and players at risk of contracting and spreading the disease.

It's a problem Smart is going to have to deal with, whether he likes it or not.