Early Signing Period proposal being voted on this week

[texascpa]

The proposal would allow a 72-hour period in December to sign recruits, and only needs a simple majority to pass. Looks like three of the five Power 5 conferences favor it.

Also, interestingly, in this ESPN article, they mention comments from HCSS:

For instance, Syracuse coach Scott Shafer said his program lost recruits last year to Notre Dame, Clemson and Florida State. If an early signing period existed, he said, the Orange and others would be rewarded for their work in identifying prospects. Instead, a cesspool often forms after the season, involving, among other perils, the rise in power of third parties who seek to benefit at the expense of players.

 

[jekelish]

I would LOVE to see this pass.

Of course, on the flip side, if it existed last year there's a decent chance we wouldn't have ended up with Steven Clark or Jake Pickard.

 

[BlackKnight76]

Would definitely be good for SU.

 

[orangepassion]

it would be good for the integrity of College Football

 

[Full_Rebar]

I thought early was going to be an August signing period? I guess this helps, but it seemed like signing before their Senior Yr of HS would have had a more positive impact for the students.

 

[AAM62]

I think the early signing period should be right before their senior seasons. How much will 2 months or less really matter?

 

[orangeinjersey]

I think the early signing period should be right before their senior seasons. How much will 2 months or less really matter?

2 months gets the dominos falling two months earlier.

 

[Whitey23]

he said, the Orange and others would be rewarded for their work in identifying prospects.

I thought it was all about the kids and the what's best for them though?

 

[Finwad32]

Honestly, it will just push up the cycle IMO. The same stuff will happen, it will just happen sooner. I guess one benefit is that you get more time to reassess and react. Conversely, this is all happening at the tail end of the season and bowl time, much more stress on the staffs involved.

Also, I think the kids that would sign early would be the most solid commits anyway, guys you'd most likely keep regardless.

After all that said, I'm still for it.

 

[TheCusian]

I thought it was all about the kids and the what's best for them though?

I don't know that a last minute switch made impulsively is great for the kid either. I think coach/player/family relationship is paramount to their success. Players and families get to know a coaching staff, do their homework on the school, etc - the staff gets the relationship with the kid and a prospect that they've identified early.

We get last minute flips from kids trying to fill out a class too - I always wonder how many work out... Shamarko might be the exception to the rule.

 

[orange79]

I thought it was all about the kids and the what's best for them though?

What color is the sky in your world?

 

[Moontan]

So, ADs will now wait to fire coaches until after the early signing period instead of immediately following the season? In shaky situations, the better prospects would hold off on committing until the normal LOI date. In the end, the more stable, successful programs will benefit the most.

 

[Ozcuse]

Yeah I see this only affecting kids that really want to attend a school no matter what as the ones who are making decisions based on connections will still wait to see what happens to their recruiters/future coaches after the season is over. I see it also being more beneficial for the Power 5 conferences as non-Power 5 recruits would hold out hope for 11th hour offers. It would give a bit of peace of mind regarding a percentage of the recruiting class however.

The time period is a little silly. It makes more sense to be prior to the start of the senior year as kids can then concentrate on academics but it was probably a compromise to get the upper echelon poaching schools to agree.

 

[SU68]

I'm in favor of the early signing day. Every high school player thinks he's good enough to play at Alabama, Ohio State, or Michigan and he will delay committing as long as there is still a chance that lightning strikes.

If the big boys load up with their 5- and high 4-stars early, it would cause the players just below that elite level to consider the other offers more seriously.

Even more importantly on the subject of commitable offers, a FBS-wide rule is needed that once a commitment is offered and accepted, the number of scholarships available to that school is reduced by one. Historically some recruits have been screwed by the school which pull the commitment when a better recruit comes along. Accepted commitments should be legally binding except for academic issues.

 

[jekelish]

Important things to keep in mind:

1) Just because there's an early signing period, it doesn't mean recruits have to utilize it. At the end of the day, I'm not entirely sure this will change a ton. It'll probably just work toward giving us a better idea about who is wavering on a commitment, more than anything.

2) How else will this impact the recruiting schedule? I would think it could potentially lead to earlier official visits, to make sure everyone can get them all in?

 

[jekelish]

 

[TheCusian]

Groan.

 

[texascpa]

Even more importantly on the subject of commitable offers, a FBS-wide rule is needed that once a commitment is offered and accepted, the number of scholarships available to that school is reduced by one. Historically some recruits have been screwed by the school which pull the commitment when a better recruit comes along. Accepted commitments should be legally binding except for academic issues.

Unfortunately, I think this flies in the face of contract law. Since no consideration has been given by either party, the contract is generally not enforceable. It would be the same as you agreeing to sell your car to me, but before I give you cash, you get a better offer and pull the deal. I have no recourse since I didn't give you anything yet.

 

[texascpa]

ridiculous. My guess is the SEC twisted some arms.

 

[Toga]

Tabled to supposedly look at a number of recruiting related issues.
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaaf...iod-proposal-tabled-until-2016-150148268.html

 

[RF2044]

Tabled to supposedly look at a number of recruiting related issues.
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaaf...iod-proposal-tabled-until-2016-150148268.html

That doesn't make sense--why is it necessary to delay an early signing period to further examine all of those peripheral recruiting issues?

Seems like bureaucracy at its finest.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[Scooch]

Is there a real benefit to the recruit for signing early? Other than the fact that other schools might leave them alone?

 

[jekelish]

Is there a real benefit to the recruit for signing early? Other than the fact that other schools might leave them alone?

The one that Shafer has been pointing to is travel budget. When you've got those kids signed, you don't have to keep traveling to visit them to keep them committed, so you can allocate that money elsewhere. Not to mention not having to assign coaches to those recruits. It basically frees up resources for unsigned recruits.

 

[jr4750]

ridiculous. My guess is the SEC twisted some arms.

exactly, why would the $EC want to miss on the opportunity to steal late bloomers from everyone else.