Mountain West Recruiting Roundup 9-22-25. Are game day visits the new OV?

It’s another week of the Mountain West Recruiting Roundup. As the season keeps going, so does recruiting. The offers are still pouring in each week...

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What is the story about?

It’s another week of the Mountain West Recruiting Roundup.

As the season keeps going, so does recruiting. The offers are still pouring in each week, with 17 new ones spread out over 9 different teams. And while there were no known commitments this week, that has been more the exception rather than the rule during this early part of the season.

However, what has been regularly missing from these weekly roundups are official visits. Over the years, we have discussed how some teams have generally been moving

away from official visits during the season. And this year, nearly every Mountain West team has embraced the June official visit period. Recruiting is always getting moved up earlier. First, it was offers going out to underclassmen, then it was recruits committing prior to their senior year. Now, OVs can happen in the early summer, and players can sign in December. The latest sign of recruiting constantly getting pushed up is that in-season official visits are regularly being replaced by the “game day visit.”

Game day visits are exactly like they sound: a recruit visiting on game day to watch the game. It’s new slang for an unofficial visit, which have always existed but are now placing a greater focus on recruits from future classes rather than the current one. This means most game day visitors will be recruits from the 2027 class and beyond.

Coaches and team personnel will still spend time with these recruits when they visit, but generally speaking, it could be easier to speak with all of them at once rather than attempting to have time with each of them individually. Also, recruits still get to see what a game is like, potentially be in the locker room for some period of time, and likely other parts of a traditional visit. In some ways, a game day visitor is the best of both worlds; recruits get to experience a game day at a school while the coaching staff has less pressure to divide their time when attempting to prepare for a game.

Keep an eye out for how your team and other teams in the Mountain West are using their home games for recruiting this season.

As far as the cover photo, Hawaii led the way in offers with four, and had an official visitor, so they take the spot this week.

Class of 2026 Cover Photo Total:

Hawaii: 4
UNLV: 4
Air Force: 3
San Diego State: 3
San Jose State: 3
Boise State: 2
Colorado State: 2
Fresno State: 2
New Mexico: 2
Wyoming: 2

Recruiting Calendar:

From September through November, we will be in an evaluation period. Coaches can go and scout recruits at their games and at school, although they can’t have direct communication with them off campus. As always, coaches can still talk to recruits via phone, text, email, or DM.

Next College Student Athlete says:

The NCAA Evaluation Period is a specific time of year when college coaches are allowed to watch an athlete compete in person or visit their school. However, coaches are not allowed to communicate with that athlete (or parents) off the college campus. Coaches can sit in the stands during a recruit’s practice or game, as well as visit the recruit’s school. This gives college coaches a chance to talk to the recruit’s coach, teachers, or guidance counselor to get a better understanding of the student-athlete’s character. After the visit, the coach may call or email the recruit and let them know how their experience was at the school or game.

The NCAA Evaluation Period is just that: a time set aside for evaluation. While coaches can’t talk to athletes off the college campus, they can still call, email, text, and direct message recruits.

Air Force Commitment Tracker:

Since the Air Force Academy regularly has by far the most commits among Mountain West recruiting classes, it’s fun to track them over the course of the year.

Number of Falcon verbal commits: 36

Commitment Spotlight:

Visit Recap:

ATH Avin Houston (Hawaii)

“I enjoyed my visit. I was able to see the eyelid of Honolulu and met with a great coaching staff led by Coach Chang. the I was able to see team come together and be a fabease team and being able to play well with each other.”