Parent's Perspective: Taking visits during a pandemic and a dead period

Most fans of recruiting obviously focus on the updates we provide regarding certain prospects, especially ones that are priority targets for their respective teams.

What sometimes gets lost, however, is the contributions and sacrifices that are made by the parents of said prospects. Family members play a crucial role in facilitating college trips for these players, ensuring that they get to see which schools they would eventually want to officially visit, carving out time to speak with the coaches and much more.

One of the parents who perfectly encapsulates everything listed above is Laura Rigney, whose sons are five-star offensive tackle Tristan Leigh and 2023 o-lineman Aidan Leigh.

After speaking with Rigney in person for the first time last week, I got to learn a little bit more about how difficult these past few months have been given the ongoing dead period and the COVID-19 pandemic. Rigney, who has multiple sclerosis, said from choosing the right airlines to fly with, all the way to speaking with recruits about taking proper safety measures, these visits have been anything but ordinary.

"We went to Oklahoma and we went to LSU," Rigney said. "And in both places, when the recruits were there... just because I'm so paranoid, the first thing I said the first time the groups got together was, 'Just going to put it out here that if anyone gets COVID, it's going to be an issue. So, let's all just use our precautions and wear a mask and stay apart.' And I think everyone was really respectful of that.

"It was good because everyone was really careful. We learned really quickly that some of the airlines were doing a lot of precautions and you felt safe. And in other airlines, not so much."

On top of deciding which airlines are following the strictest guidelines and making sure that fellow prospects are taking things seriously, Rigney and her sons also had to figure out where would be the best place to stay. Finding larger hotels and bringing supplies to clean down their rooms when they arrived proved to be the right combination for them.

"We found that if we stayed in bigger places, we were able to social distance a lot better," Rigney said. "We brought our own cleaning supplies everywhere just because we were so worried. We had heard so many rumors about hotel employees having it or their cleaning crews not wearing masks... so we're a little paranoid because of it."

The actual trips themselves were, as expected, completely different than even unofficial visits in the past. They were unable to interact with any coaching staff members in person during their time in Baton Rouge and Norman, and each time they stepped foot on campus, it had to be self-guided.

Besides taking special precautions on their previous visits, Tristan says that his workouts and social life have had to adjust as well since the start of the coronavirus outbreak.

"It's definitely a lot different because we didn't have to do any of that stuff before," Leigh said. "We have to space out our workouts. They have to take two minutes to wipe everything down and move to the next station. I feel like you keep your circle tight and hang out with people you know don't have it. I hang out with the same two or three people."

The NCAA's decision to extend the dead period to April 15 was devastating for recruits all across the country, mainly the uncommitted ones in the 2021 cycle. Leigh is one of those senior prospects who have yet to make a final decision, but was banking on utilizing all five of his OVs prior to deciding.

Leigh, who is set to announce his commitment on Jan. 2, 2021, says his visit experiences during the dead period were completely different because of the circumstances they are in.

"I was hoping to have official visits," Leigh said. "But since we don't have that, when we visit a school, we mostly stay in the whips. We don't really have to get out. It's good because she doesn't have to walk anywhere, plus we don't have to get near people for the cold and stuff. For the summers, I guess we just got fortunate enough."

Going back to Rigney, her trip to the University of Oklahoma back in late August did not go as smoothly as most people initially thought. Once they got off from the plane they took to go there, she started to have issues as a result of her MS.

Even with this emergency having come up, Rigney was able to react on the fly and get the help she needed to continue the visit.

"It's a really hard line that I have to walk because I really want Tristan to get the full experience of everything we do," Rigney said. "I don't want to be the reason it's held back. He never minds, he's always hopeful. My kids are like my rock, so they know sometimes when I'm having an issue before I even know.

"It's hard because I feel bad when my MS starts acting up and I'm holding them back, but they always make me feel good. We got off the plane in Oklahoma... I immediately told Tristan and Aidan, 'We got a problem. I don't think I'm going to be able to walk.' So, we got to the hotel and I went to find a store to get a good walker. They were really accommodating and really nice, so it ended up being great because it had a seat on it."

One of the changes that happened during their time in Norman, however, was that Aidan and Tristan did not get to walk around OU's campus. Rigney also noted that the flares up in her MS also led to the three of them not going to Ohio State for the Buckeye Bash on Oct. 24.

"The Oklahoma trip, they took a tour of the campus," Rigney said. "I couldn't participate. Anything I can't participate in, usually my kids are like, 'Nope. If she's not doing it, I'm not doing it.' And yeah, it makes me feel bad and Ohio State, the same thing. I felt really bad that we missed that trip because of it.

"My kids feel really strongly about one-for-all. When I have issues, they would rather be with me and make sure I'm OK then to leave me. It's hard. I feel guilty. I feel really bad that I have things that hold them back, but they know it's not my fault and I know it's not my fault. But it is frustrating."

While some of these issues that popped up may have been frustrating for Rigney, one has to admire what she's been able to do for Aidan and Tristan over the past few months. She's facilitated trips to the states of Florida and Georgia, as well as LSU (twice) and the University of Oklahoma.

All of that took place while she was someone who is at risk in the middle of a pandemic.

Kudos to Laura for the sacrifices she's made to ensure her sons enjoy the recruiting process and everything that experience has to offer.

Stay tuned to BuckeyeGrove.