Could Moving Early Signing Period Help the Chaos?

Clemson coach thinks moving it to August 1 can protect the high school player

CLEMSON, S.C. — Dabo Swinney has always been a fan of the Early Signing Period. He advocated for it for years.

However, Clemson’s head football coach also understands the NCAA needs to do something about the current state of college football.

Once conference championship weekend ends, college football is in a state of flux. Coaches are fired or leave for another job. The transfer portal opens, as thousands of players throw their names into the portal to see if the grass is greener on the other side.

Players decide whether or not to turn professional and opt of bowl games or the College Football Playoff. There are bowl games, bowl practices and press conferences going on and, oh by the way, there is recruiting and the early signing period.

For three weeks in December, it is chaos in college football. And though there is no one way to fix it, there is a way to possibly help it.

One way is to move the Early Signing Period to July or August.

“I guess there is a lot of conversation going on, but honestly, I love the early signing period. I have always been an advocate for it. I think it should be earlier,” Swinney said. “Personally, where we are today in college football, I think after August 1 of your senior year, you should be able to sign anytime you want.

“It is sad what is going on with high school recruiting. There are a lot of kids in high school that used to have a lot of opportunities and access that are not getting it now.”

Swinney said if he was a high school coach, he would move to push the Early Signing Period to the summer because it gives the high school players more protection.

“After August 1, if you offer someone a scholarship, that player ought to be able to sign,” he said. “That right there would protect these kids from all these fake offers. I think that is important.”

Where are these fake offers coming from?

As Swinney explains it, some coaches are offering an athlete a scholarship, but when a big-name player or a particular player puts his name into the transfer portal, these same coaches come back to these high school recruits and pull their offers so they can give it to someone they want from the transfer portal.

“So, it ought to be earlier, so those kids can lock into their school,” Swinney said. “All these guys that we had, they would have signed in June. They would have signed in July. They would have signed anytime.

“We just signed 26 high school kids and all 26 would have signed back in the summer. So, I think leave it where it is or move it earlier. Or just say, ‘Hey, anytime after August 1, you can sign.’ That would slow down these uncommittable offers, number one.

“Number two, it protects the kids and I think it helps the coach as well.”

Swinney believes it can help the coaches because having a class signed at the end of a season, or in the middle of the season these days, will prevent athletic directors from being impatient and firing a coach after a few of years.

“Again, the kids are already protected and can leave at any time, but if that was the case and you can sign early, and they fire the coach or the coach leaves, then you are free to open your recruitment back up. I think that is important,” he said. “Maybe there will be some ADs out there that might give that coach another year. There is a really good class signed, committed already… that might give that guy another year or two.”

And that can help ease some of the chaos too.

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