Sandfort getting closer to decision

If the recruiting process was proceeding as normal, there’s a good chance that three star forward Payton Sandfort would have been making his official visit to the University of Iowa this weekend.

The Hawkeye football team would be hosting in-state rival Iowa State and the atmosphere would have been electric. Instead, the Waukee native made a visit to Iowa City last Friday with his family and walked around campus. Potential recruits are still not allowed to meet with coaches on their visits, per NCAA restrictions.

Such is the life of being a 2021 recruit during Covid-19.

“I had never really seen the school side of Iowa before, so we did our own little tour last Friday,” Sandfort said. “We actually ran into Connor McCaffery on campus and he showed us a few things before he had to go, but otherwise I have a cousin who goes to school there and he showed us around.”

The 6-foot-7 forward has been to Iowa City several times, attending both football and basketball games. He felt it was important to get a look at the other side of the Iowa campus.

But, for the most part, the recruiting process for Sandfort has been virtual. It’s been phone calls, Zoom visits, and getting to know some coaches without having really spent any time with them in-person.

“It’s been a lot of Zoom calls and virtual visits to places. The coaches have been great and engaging.”

One of the schools that he has gotten to know on a virtual level is Stanford, who extended a scholarship offer this summer. The Cardinal have made a very positive impression thus far.

“I went on a virtual tour there, which was pretty cool. I have been in contact with some of the players there and they let me know what it’s like there, the schedule they have to keep and how it works with their classes,” Sandfort said.

Two schools that are still very much in the mix for the skilled forward are Iowa and Drake and they are both close enough to have a more unique relationship with the coaches.

For the Bulldogs, it’s the fact that his high school teammate at Waukee happens to be the son of Drake head coach Darian DeVries. Tucker DeVries is an outstanding prospect in his own right and Sandfort said he has spent time over at their house, as high school teammates and friends do.

Iowa is certainly putting on more of a full court press in recruiting Sandfort with Fran McCaffery playing a leading role.

“Coach McCaffery calls me once or twice a week to catch up and stay in touch and Coach Dillard also calls me quite a bit,” he said. “This summer when I was playing AAU basketball, I ran into Coach Taylor at events where his son was playing and we would say hello.”

When the Hawkeyes have hosted Sandfort in-person before the pandemic, they focused in on using video to show how they would use him on the offensive end of the floor.

“They would show me clips of Aaron White, Jarrod Uthoff, and Joe Wieskamp and tell me how they flourished in their system and how I could do the same thing.”

Sandfort says he is getting closer to a decision. While it might not be imminent, the 2021 standout wants to make his college choice before the start of practice for his senior season at the high school level. While he is feeling some pressure regarding his college decision, Sandfort wants to be comfortable with his decision.

“I think the majority of people around me are pushing me towards Iowa. My cousin goes there and my uncle is a huge Hawkeye fan, plus I have friends at school who are going to Iowa,” he said. “I’m just trying to follow my own path and block out a lot of the outside noise and end up doing what’s best for me.”