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Football to get an early signing day of its own?
College recruiting season begins earlier each year, so coaches favor allowing athletes to sign earlier, too.
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Sunday, June 22, 2008
COLUMBUS — Ohio State pulled off a signing day coup in 2005 when it enticed prep star Lawrence Wilson into reneging on a verbal commitment to Notre Dame, but a movement is afoot among college football coaches that could make those last-minute reversals a thing of the past.
Grant Teaff, executive director of the American Football Coaches Association, said a recent poll of his group showed more than 60 percent are in favor of adopting an early signing period to go along with the traditional letter-of-intent day on the first Wednesday in February.
"That's a higher percentage than we've ever had in the past," Teaff said, adding that the majority prefer staging it in early December.
Teaff said he believes it's just a matter of time before the AFCA sends a proposal to conference commissioners for approval. Any signing-day changes also would have to be approved by the National Letter-of-Intent Policy and Review Committee.
SEC coaches voted 9-3 in favor of an early signing period last month, only to have it turned down by school administrators, but it's unclear what that would have accomplished.
An NCAA spokesperson said all conferences must abide by the same NLI dates, and no leagues may decide independently to establish their own.
College basketball has an early signing period, allowing players to sign in November before their senior years, but it's always been a divisive issue in football.
The concern of some coaches is that it will push the recruiting calender forward, but the majority of players are now making their commitments before their senior seasons anyway.
"I think that an early signing date of some type is inevitable, and I would be in favor of that," OSU coach Jim Tressel said. "What remains for us to do in football is to work out the details to make it most advantageous for all the parties involved."
Northmont High School coach Lance Schneider sees some merit in having an early signing period, but not unless it's held before the season starts.
"Having it just a couple months earlier (than the current signing day), I don't see a lot of benefit to it," Schneider said.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2125
or at dharris@DaytonDailyNews.com.
