Ever since the early signing period was implemented in 2017, less and less attention has been paid to National Signing Day every February.
The December signing period has become the de facto National Signing Day, with 19 of the 21 Pitt commits signing in December, and it appears that the signing period may be getting even earlier.
According to a report by The Athletic’s Nicole Auerbach, there have been advanced discussions in the National Letter of Intent subcommittee of the Collegiate Commissioners Association (CCA) about moving the December signing period to the Wednesday before the FBS championship games, which is Dec. 4 this year. It would allow high schoolers to sign their National Letters of Intent before the transfer portal officially opens.
“The biggest reason we’re doing this is to clear up the football recruiting calendar so the signing period and the transfer portal don’t overlap,” committee chairman Tom Wistrcill told The Athletic. “The feedback we’ve received from all coaches is that December is a mess. Especially with the expansion of the CFP coming next year, that just creates more chaos in December. This should help.”
Auerbach further reported that another option being discussed is introducing a summer signing period in either June or August, which would begin and end before a high school student’s senior season. It would be the third NLI opportunity — allowing for a February period, a summer period and a December period.
The world of college football is rapidly changing, as the transfer portal and NIL continue to evolve on what sometimes feels like a daily basis, and it’s left high school students in a tough spot. Of course, the four- and five-star recruits are still okay, still receiving tons of offers and NIL opportunities of their own, but the transfer portal isn’t good for everyone.
Those under-recruited players who may have latched on at the FBS level, maybe even at the Power Five level, are having their opportunities disappear as more and more coaching staffs around the country target older, more experienced players from the portal.
Narduzzi is content to continue to bring in large high school classes and develop those players into Pitt Panthers and potential NFL players, too.
“There’s a lot of great high school players out there,” Narduzzi said on National Signing Day in February. “It’s about developing players and taking these young guys. Sometimes you get some guys that are stuck in their old ways and don’t want to do it their way. You know, there’s something to developing high school players into great college players and moving them on to the NFL.
“And if everybody’s going one way to the portal, then I’d rather stick — and I’m sure there’s a lot of coaches across the country who still have that philosophy. I know there’s a lot of high school coaches worrying about their guys getting opportunities, but I still believe that’s my way, our way, Pitt’s way of developing a football team.”
So, while it remains to be seen whether or not the CCA will pass either signing day measures (it seems likely that at least one will pass), it’s clear that high school recruiting will continue to be a vital part of not just Pitt football but college football everywhere. Even if those opportunities may appear more limited.
The summer window would bring a new meaning to a recruit committing “early” to a program, and that seems long overdue. The December window moving up isn’t a drastic change, but it’s clearly being looked at as a way to “jump” the transfer portal opening. However, it would also interfere with potential championship game prep.
I don’t always agree with Pat though he has my complete respect. He nailed it on this. Keep developing good high school players into PITT guys. Hit that portal for specific need.
H2P!