In the day before official recruiting begins, how much does it mean when you get an email from a recruit saying he's interested in your program?  Do I assume all other schools with similar prestige (or higher) will receive a similar email from the same recruit?  It doesn't appear to be limited to local schools as I'm about 1,000 miles from this recruit...

This is asked at the D3 level--not sure if the answer is different at D1 or D2...

I've always received those, but only from nearby recruits. I wonder if he was near your school last season, but went JUCO.  If so, I believe the distance is measured from his JUCO college, not his hometown. Is his hometown near you?

And, yes, several coaches will receive the same message from him, but not everyone in D3