The idea of an early signing period for college football is not a new concept.
Many coaches, players and administrators have long been proponents of the idea, looking to create a way to ease the burden placed on 17- and 18-year-olds who have finalized their decision on where to continue their football careers long before National Signing Day.
There appears now to be enough momentum on the issue that a 12-person committee composed of administrators and former coaches has recommended a proposal for an early signing period that would take place in mid-December. As first reported by CBS Sports, the group hopes to get approval for a measure that would take place in the 2016 recruiting year.
Some conferences such as the ACC have pushed for a date sometime in early August while SEC officials were hoping for right after Thanksgiving.
Mid-American Conference commissioner Dr. Jon Steinbrecher, who is on the board that oversees the National Letter of Intent, believes this could be the right time for it.
"The drums continued to beat on it," Steinbrecher told the Sentinel on Friday.
Steinbrecher said movement on the issue picked up steam last summer and eventually the group decided now was the time to recommend a change.
"I think we're at a time where we need to dig into this a little deeper," he said.
And with that, the group put forth its proposal to the Collegiate Commissioners Association during the NCAA Convention earlier this month.
The idea is to allow recruits who are firmly committed to a school to sign their NLI on Dec. 16 and get it out of the way.
I'm all for it.
Anything the NCAA can do to ease the pressure on teenagers while allowing them to enjoy their senior year of high school, I'm all for.
Have you seen some of the mountain of recruiting fliers some of these kids get, not to mention the endless phone calls that force some elite players to get multiple mobile phones? Here's hoping they have a good family plan.
For those who like the attention or can't make up their minds, there would still be the option for recruits to wait until National Signing Day on Feb. 4.
Steinbrecher said despite rules to prevent it, "We're seeing more and more kids [orally] committing earlier."
And the most recent data appear to back up that point.
According to Steinbrecher, roughly 82 percent of recruits commit to a school either the summer before or during their senior season. Ninety percent of those recruits then go on to sign with the institution to which they originally committed.
Steinbrecher said the move would be consistent with what other collegiate sports are doing now. Only football, soccer and water polo don't have an early signing period.
And by no means is this issue a done-deal.
The CCA meets in June to decide on the matter, so there is plenty of time for debate among officials. But Steinbrecher believes this proposal is worth it.
"This recommendation seems reasonable," he added. "I think there is strong interest in it."
That being said, there is a wide range of opinions on the subject -- from not having interest in an early signing period altogether to perhaps moving up the date.
Either way, Steinbrecher said the overall consensus among many of the coaches and administrators was they didn't want something that would alter the existing recruiting calendar.
"They did not want to change that," he added.
This move comes on the heels of other legislation by conference commissioners geared more toward the benefit of student-athletes. Easing pressure on high school seniors could go a long way into changing recruiting as we know it.
Sports on 01/26/2015