Early signing period for college football recruiting opens on Wednesday as coaches from across the country hustle to shore up their classes and land as many signatures as possible.
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The birth of the early signing period has had a dramatic effect on recruiting. Most coaches were caught a bit off guard last year by just how many recruits were willing to sign in December instead of waiting for National Signing Day in February.
Coaches are better prepared going into the second early signing period, and just as many, if not more, prospects are eager to put the pen to paper over the next few days to end the suspense between now and February.
Numerous highly touted prospects remain uncommitted, and many of them will make their college decisions known during the early signing period.
Most programs will be looking to fill out their recruiting classes as much as possible, although some notable top prospects will be waiting until the traditional signing day on the first Wednesday of February before signing their letters of intent, and schools will hold a spot or two in hopes of luring them.
With that in mind, however, the early signing period, which is open from December 19-22, has usurped the traditional signing day with the bevy of prospects hoping to sign so they can enroll early and participate in bowl practices and spring training in March. There’s also a concern of spots not being available at those prospects’ school of choice if they don’t put the pen to paper this week.
If a player is committed to a program and doesn’t sign over the next few days, that player should be considered a soft verbal at best, and you can bet the sharks will be in the water attempting to flip them from here until February.
Some coaches will be elated after the early signing period while some will be left scrambling to pick up the pieces and put together a class over the next couple of months after whiffing on some top targets.
Let’s take a look at five schools which are poised for big finish to the early signing period: