Early Signing Period Approved
In mid-April, the NCAA Division I council approved several changes to the recruiting model including the addition of an early signing period to join the traditional February date.
The Collegiate Commissioners Association, which handles the National Letter of Intent program, announced the official passage of the rule.
Starting this December perspective student-athletes can sign a NLI during a 72-hour period which coincides with the first three days of the midyear JUCO transfer signing period. The new early signing period for senior student-athletes will be Dec. 20-22 while the JUCO period extends through mid-January.
Though the early signing period will begin this December, prospects in the 2018 class will not be able to take advantage of the other legislation passed by the Division I council including official visits beginning in April 1 of student-athlete's junior year compared to September 1 of their senior year which doesn't start until 2018 (the 2019 class).
An early signing period is a change Irish head coach Brian Kelly has long been clamoring for. Kelly said in April he saw the changes as positive, but was not sure how the early signing period would potentially impact his program.
“Who knows how that will eventually play out,” Kelly said. “Will you have all your early commitments signed? Who knows. We’re not necessarily counting on that. Some may choose to do that, but it allows us another resource to be pointed towards those that are not (yet signed) because we’re coast-to-coast (recruiting).
“We’re going from L.A. to New Jersey. Any one less trip for a coach to go coast-to-coast to focus on a particular kid that’s not committed is a resource well-served.”
Adding an early signing period has been a hot topic in the college football world for several years with the recruitment process continuing to speed up. The passage of the early signing period and official dates reflect this process.
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