In the words of famous singer Alice Cooper, school's out for summer. As high school athletes finish finals and last-minute assignments, they are also planning official visits to colleges around the country.
The Arkansas coaching staff has been hard at work on the recruiting trail, with a 2024 class that currently ranks No. 12 in the nation with 10 commitments. They will look to add to that with a busy month of June that will see numerous official visitors.
A few in-state prospects are scheduled to announce their college decisions in June as well. Bentonville wide receiver CJ Brown and Fort Smith Southside offensive lineman Kobe Branham will make their pledges public toward the end of the month. Both have official visits scheduled.
The reason these official visits are scheduled from June 2 to June 25 is because the NCAA recruiting calendar enters a dead period on June 26 which continues until July 25. During that time, coaches cannot make contact — either on or off campus — with recruits.
Many of these recruits have already been on campus for unofficial visits, but official visits are different. Unofficial visits are paid for by the visitor, while official visits allow coaches to roll out the red carpet for recruits. Until a recent rule change, student athletes were only allowed five official visits. Now, recruits can take as many official visits as they want.
Athletes are allowed to start taking official visits — which typically last 48 hours — as early as April 1 of their junior year, but most opt to wait for the summer as schedules get lighter without spring football practice and regular schoolwork.
Expect more names to be added to this list in the coming days. Here's a list of official visitors for each weekend in the month of June.