SEC coaches not sure what to expect with early signing period for 2018 class

As if National Signing Day wasn’t enough of a circus, the recently enacted early signing period now essentially gives us two of them.

This was one of the hot topics of conversation Monday on the SEC coaches teleconference, as all 14 head coaches were asked about the new rule in some form or fashion. None of them truly knew what to expect at this juncture.

To summarize, the Collegiate Commissioners Association (CCA) will open a three-day window December 20-22 for high school prospects to sign their National Letters of Intent ahead of the traditional National Signing Day, which is the first Wednesday in February. The rule has been received with mixed reviews.

For players who have their minds made up and know where they want to go, the recruiting process can now come to an end faster.

“It’s got the potential to really help everyone as a cost-cutting measure,” said Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin.

To Sumlin’s point, recruiting’s home stretch each and every January is as much about securing the commitments he already has as it is finding new prospective Aggies. If those commits were already signed, his calender opens up considerably.

“I truly believe it’s going to call some people’s bluff,” said Florida coach Jim McElwain.

For example, a 3-star recruit is in danger of having his offer pulled by a coach if a 4- or 5-star kid who plays the same position comes aboard. Players have also been known to commit to one school knowing full well that they’ll decommit if a better offer materializes. An early signing period can eliminate some of this game of chicken.

Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

“If he’s not signing in December, you better rethink your numbers at that position or continue to recruit,” said South Carolina coach Will Muschamp (above), “because you’re not sure if he’s going to sign in February.”

As Muschamp suggests, if a prospect claims to be committed but won’t sign early, chances are he’s still shopping.

“It’ll be interesting to see who handles it best,” said Georgia coach Kirby Smart. “You’re going to have some kids who want to sign early. You’re going to have others who don’t. You’re going to have a lot of pressure on kids not to sign from other schools, to wait and see what becomes available.”

The general consensus is that an early signing period helps lesser teams and non-Power 5 programs. The powerhouses have been known to offer a late bloomer at the last minute and steal him away from smaller schools that recruited him from Day 1.

“Evaluation is important,” said Alabama coach Nick Saban, “and the sooner you have to make decisions on these guys, the greater opportunity you have to make mistakes.”

As part of the new rule, prospects will now be permitted to take official visits during the spring of their junior year of high school. Previously, they couldn’t do so until the fall of their senior year. For those aforementioned late bloomers, that’s less time to pop up on the radar for a best-of-the-best recruiter like Saban.

“I’m a big fan of getting to know kids, and that’s difficult,” said Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze. “You’re getting ready to host a kid, and you’ve never really had conversations yet. I want to know the kid’s fit with us. The way it’s been expedited is a bit troubling and could cause you to be a bit reckless.”

Players are getting recruited much earlier than they were a generation ago, and now their decisions are potentially coming sooner, too.

“We’ll have to do a great job on making sure our in-season visits for those guys we feel like are going to decide early that we find enough time out of the weekend with a home game that we’re able to get them the full experience of being a student-athlete at Mizzou,” said Missouri coach Barry Odom (below).

Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Previously, the Tigers tended to host recruits on official visits in December and January in order to give them their full attention. That’s harder to do on a game weekend in October or November. Odom will have to alter his approach, though.

“As far as changing the calendar and doing all those things,” said Kentucky coach Mark Stoops, “and then you package it together, I don’t think I was totally in favor of that.”

Stoops has already enjoyed a lot of success in his home state of Ohio and landing some kids that may have been inclined to attend places like Ohio State. On the surface, the early signing period feels like a win for the Wildcats. However, football coaches are creatures of habit and resistant to change.

“I know probably if I was at Central Michigan or Cincinnati, I would want an early signing day and be able to not have as many maybe signing-day surprises,” said Tennessee coach Butch Jones, who coached the Chippewas and Bearcats, respectively, before taking over the Volunteers. “But I think overall it still gets back to the evaluation process and all the things that are going to go into that with the early signing day.”

Will this have any effect on Alabama’s ability to sign the No. 1 class in America, which has been the case seven consecutive years?

Another factor of more recent vintage is early-enrollee freshmen. It used to just be quarterbacks, but now it’s seemingly every position. An early signing period allows them to have their moment in the sun, too.

We can only speculate as to how the early signing period will change the recruiting landscape as we now know it. Even if our best guess is that it’ll help the little guys, the big guys will surely do everything in their power to tip the scales even further in their favor. Don’t expect this dirty business to become any cleaner.

“It’s a war out there,” said LSU coach Ed Orgeron. “Now you have two of them.”