Visits to eighth graders mean zero - zero, zero, zero, zero.
Any parent of a college kid can comb through the family photo album and the answer emerges: does your college freshman look like the smiling eighth grader? Did your kid change between eighth grade and senior year in HS? Do you think a coach really believes he can tell which eighth graders will be the "ones?" What will be the eighth graders scores, grades and course difficulty (in other words, will the kid even be able to get over the admissions bar)? What will be the familiy's finances in four years? Heck, the coach can't hit with any degree of regularity when he recruits 11th graders, why would you think he can do it with younger kids? (Recruiting is after all a numbers game - the more comittments early the more crap was thrown at the wall; the more thrown at the wall, the more which will stick.)
Now, I can be convinced that coaches have found the magic fairy dust by offering eighth graders - IF YOU SHOW ME A SINGLE COLLEGE TEAM DOMINATED BY KIDS WHO GOT AN OFFER FROM THAT SCHOOL WHILE THE KIDS WERE PRE-HS. (To me, this is another example of some coaches trying to game the system, with no risk to the coach (who may not be there in six years), no risk to the college, and every risk on the kid - who gets worthless bragging rights with no corresponding reward potential.)
So, I am asking a question to those who are believing this: WHERE IS YOUR EVIDENCE OF A PROGRAM's SUCCESS USING THIS RECRUITING METHOD?