not weird - but I'd wait get to know them in person first! social media is a false portrayal of the life of an individual and you'll paint a picture in your head of how you believe they are, when they are not that way whatsoever! be different and proceed with caution on social media.
Not weird at all. This was a long time ago for me, but when I was going to college facebook was the biggest social network in use by that demographic and I was already friends with numerous teammates and kids in my recruiting class before we met in person.
Dude just create fake social media accounts! And then use those to follow them
Also not a bad idea to head down to the school incognito. Just create a good disguise and check out the practices. Maybe pretend you doing community service and go around picking up trash with one of those metal things. Wear one of those reflector suits as well ! And you could get an idea on how the practices are
Maybe pretend you're cleaning staff and go into the dorms , and see what's going on. You could really get a feel for the place while maintaining complete anonymity
Just make sure it's a really good disguise and put some real effort into it. But no I would not recommend doing anything weird like following them on social media