Hi - My daughter is in a similar situation as your son and I don’t know if there’s any difference to being a “recruit” per se. She was actively recruited by one coach (that’s how she ended up considering bs at all) and at the other schools she applied to the coaches reached out to her for zooms, etc after her application was submitted. All the coaches have said they will advocate for her in the process but that’s about it. And no, I don’t think anyone gets accepted before March 10.
I’m also interested in answers to your second question, as our PFS also thinks we can afford a bit more than we can…
Good luck!