Spring reps on a practice field are only part of what college football programs are missing because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The situation that led to the cancellation of the 15 spring practices that Iowa and Illinois were preparing for is also impacting the way those Big Ten programs recruit.

“There are a lot of ramifications on the recruiting front,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said last week during a teleconference.

For the Hawkeyes, spring practices are a time when prospective players have an opportunity to watch Iowa at work.

It is not uncommon during those spring sessions for high school underclassmen to be on the sidelines, taking an unofficial visit while being joined by family members or high school coaches.

“The last five years, eight years, spring has become a big time for visits,” Ferentz said. “It can be a perfect time for families to come out with the recruit and get a real good idea of how we go about doing things. We’ve always encouraged the families to be an active participant in the process and spring has become a good opportunity for that happen.”

With the NCAA banning on- and off-campus recruiting through at least May 31, that opportunity isn’t taking place this spring.

It will also prevent coaches from going out to schools and meet with coaches as they have in the past once spring practices are over.

Coaches are continuing to do what they can to communicate with prospects, mostly working off of lists already compiled from earlier evaluations.

Ferentz said Iowa has offered fewer than 100 scholarships to prospective members of its 2021 recruiting class, reflective in part of the selective nature of the Hawkeyes as they recruit.

For example, only Northwestern among its Big Ten peers made fewer scholarship offers than Iowa did as it put together its 2020 recruiting class.

Iowa counts on personal connections — including visits to campus — to make it all work and has throughout Ferentz’s tenure.

Ferentz said Iowa continues to work with that underlying philosophy even if visits are not an option right now.

“We’ve got a list of people that we’re staying in touch with and we’ve been corresponding with. Mail, email, phone calls, FaceTime, those types of things,” Ferentz said. “But the biggest thing is people aren’t coming to campus. I can’t look down the road that far, but technically we have visits scheduled for June. Those are certainly in jeopardy.”

Fighting Illini coach Lovie Smith said coaches are working to continue to communicate with prospects.

“We’re adapting to what we are able to do,” Smith said. “We can continue to tell recruits what our program has to offer. Right now, we just can’t do that on campus or go out.”

Ferentz said staff members continue to meet and discuss recruiting on a regular basis, although those conversations are now being taking place as part of video conference calls.

“There is a lot of new technology that is being learned,” he said.

Ferentz suspects that Hawkeye coaches may be without another thing that has been a productive recruiting tool for the Iowa program.

Most of Iowa’s summer camps for high school athletes fill the calendar in June and while no decisions have been made at this point, Ferentz questions whether they will take place as scheduled.

“I don’t envision camps popping up,” Ferentz said. “Those have been predominantly in June. I’m not sure those are going to take place.”

The Hawkeyes have typically offered a handful of scholarships based on evaluations they have made during those camps, decisions that would now have to be made off of additional conversations with coaches and film study.

Ferentz suggests that it is possible that more evaluations will need to be made in-season next fall, with visits scheduled in December and January.

“It may go back to being like it was years ago with a lot of visits taking place after the season,” he said. “It’s all up in the air right now.”

Iowa is off to a solid start in building its 2021 recruiting class.

Eight high school players have verbally committed to sign with the Hawkeyes in December, forming the foundation of a class that will likely add around 20 prospects to the program once completed.