It's time to normalize the college football offseason for good

When structuring the college football offseason, coaches have been put on backburner for non-stop chaos

Arkansas Razorbacks coach Sam Pittman during spring practice drills on the outdoor fields in Fayetteville, Ark. | Nilsen Roman-Hogs on SI Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The college football offseason has lost luster over the past decade.

Changes galore have happened since 2017 spearheaded by the early National Signing Day that was meant to ultimately benefit the underdogs.

Fans across the country made the first Wednesday in February an unofficial national holiday.

It was the culmination of months, maybe years in some cases, of developing relationships to get athletes to sign the dotted line. National Signing Day was met with excitement and drama giving stories that could be told for a lifetime.

Getting an early signing period is nice, don't get it twisted, but the February period seems a bit insignificant at this point.

The transfer portal has added extra chaos to the madness, forcing coaches to recruit college players in addition to four years worth of high schoolers along with a full 85-man scholarship roster year round.

Arkansas Razorbacks offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino on the indoor practice field in Fayetteville, Ark. | Andy Hodges-Hogs on SI Images

These coaching staffs are paid millions of dollars to spend each day of each year recruiting which can be exhausting.

Keeping athletes happy, out of the transfer portal and content with where they are on the depth chart, it's a 24/7 job and Arkansas coach Sam Pittman along with coaches across the nation deserve a little bit of a break at this point.

"[There's] numbers being thrown out there which I don’t know if it’s going to pass or not pass or whatever," Pittman said April 15. "One number was Jan. 2-Jan.12 and to me that’s a great time, but what if you are in the playoffs just like basketball and here comes this.

"It’s not that the kids will go in the portal, it’s the ability to say if I don’t get this, this, this, I may not play in the semifinal game. Then you’ve got problems."

The NCAA could consider implementing a portal window once schools are completely through with spring practices.

Of course, graduate transfers have the opportunity to operate how they would like, but something needs to be done to calm down the monster of NIL, transfer portal and high school recruiting all in one.

There may not be a convenient time to crack down on any of the mess which greed has caused, but for the sanity of all, it would be great to normalize the college football calendar again.

Give these coaches, staffers and administrators a break and stop letting the inmates run the asylum.

Arkansas Razorbacks wide receiver Mike Woods after making a catch during spring practice in 2021 just weeks before transferring to play at Oklahoma after the Red White game. | Andy Hodges-Hogs on SI Images

"I don’t know when the idea would be, but the one portal window that I heard thrown around was Jan. 2-12 and that would be great," Pittman said. "You could have Christmas without 'I hope that phone doesn't ring.' You can be with your family, whether it be in a bowl game or not, and not worry about who’s getting in the portal.

"Man, it would make life a lot better. I don’t know what the [answer] is. Feb. 1-Feb. 12, is that the best time? Well, you can’t do that because they can’t get into spring ball. Jan. 2 -Jan. 12 is what I’ve heard. To me, one portal, that’s the best option right now."