Mountain West Recruiting Roundup 11-17-25. Air Force recruiting and decommits.

SB Nation

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

This week, CBS Sports dove into how Air Force is navigating the modern era of recruiting for NIL and the transfer portal working against them.

This chunk of the article stood out:

Calhoun instead focuses on the big-picture opportunities that attending the Air Force Academy brings.

“It’s a much stronger part of the conversation for us with players,” Calhoun said. “When you go to conference meetings, you rarely ever hear academics mentioned in this day and age. But the players we target, we’re talking more on what to expect at the academy — the academic packages, the military obligation, the character, the toughness and the leadership aspect.”

More schools eschew the contact period in the fall and winter while they prepare their own teams for games or work to maintain their own roster. Air Force dives right in.

“There is no one that values the contact period more than we do,” Calhoun said. “There is a clear distinction between the eval period and the contact period. We’re very much involved with the home visits and the school visits.

It’s interesting to hear how Coach Calhoun and the Falcons have to identify what sets them apart and the best way to communicate what sets them apart. Targeting people who want to go into the military is obviously big, but the academic and leadership aspects are other things that they can offer, which other schools aren’t able to, at least not to the same degree. It’s also noteworthy to hear how they focus on being more in-depth with their in-home visits. While it’s uncertain how many schools opt for Zoom to recruit quickly and reach more players, Air Force goes in the other direction by going deeper with the visits they have.

Also, decommitment season is definitely upon us. This week, there were five players who reopened their recruiting after being pledged to a Mountain West school. It begs the question, is a decommit always the player’s choice or how often does the school initiate them looking elsewhere?

It’s hard to say, and obviously, every situation is different. But one sign may be who reports new offers or impending visits almost immediately, assuming they don’t commit to a new school right away, and which ones don’t. If it’s the former, it’s likely a sign it’s their choice to reopen their commitment. If it’s the latter, perhaps a school informed them it would be in their best interest to start looking elsewhere.

With that all being said, it was a busy week in the commitment department as well, with 10 new players entering the fold. Nevada had four of them by themselves, with one being in the 2027 class. Not only do the Wolf Pack get a big win, but they are featured on the cover photo as well.

Class of 2026 Cover Photo Total:

Colorado State: 4
Hawaii: 4
UNLV: 4
Air Force: 3
Boise State: 3
Fresno State: 3
New Mexico: 3
San Diego State: 3
San Jose State: 3
Wyoming: 3
Nevada: 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: 39