Signing in December appeals to many top players
Colten Blanton is spending his time the same way many top-notch recruits are this summer: in a classroom.
The 6-6, 271-pound Cypress Ranch offensive tackle and 2018 Texas A&M commitment isn’t taking summer classes for fun but out of necessity.
Recruits are on an accelerated timeline these days. Blanton plans to graduate from high school in December and be in College Station for spring practice.
Speeding up that timeline even more is the fact the NCAA now allows football players to sign national letters of intent in in December — an option local recruits love for various reasons and one Blanton will be taking advantage of.
“I think it’s going to be pretty cool to see how it actually unfolds with some of the people that aren’t going early,” said Blanton, who has been committed to the Aggies since November 2016. “People will be able to take advantage of it from here on out. The NCAA is using us as an example.”
Blanton brings up an interesting point. The 2018 class will be the guinea pigs for how the ins and outs of an early signing period works.
With the addition of a 10th full-time assistant on college teams, official visits being allowed in April, and changes to hiring practices and satellite camp procedures, recruiting is in the midst of its biggest overhaul in decades.
The early signing period is one of the biggest new wrinkles. Some believe it puts power back in recruits’ hands as much as it allows coaches to preliminarily lock up their classes before February.
It could curb the practice of over-offering. Coaches sometimes extend a scholarship offer to a player as a backup plan, with the hope of gaining the commitment of another, perhaps higherrated player. The December signing date will allow players to know coaches’ true intentions.
Maybe what happened
to New Jersey linebacker Ryan Dickens won’t happen as often. Dickens was verbally committed to Connecticut during this past recruiting cycle, but his offer was pulled after the late December firing of coach Bob Diaco and subsequent hire of Randy Edsall, who opted to go in a different direction. This is not an uncommon practice among coaches, but under the new rules, a player like Dickens might be signed already or be able to make an early adjustment.
There will still be some stress involved with the new rules.
“I guarantee you for the coaches, it’s going to be stressful,” Blanton said. “I talk to coaches during that time of year, and they’re really focused on trying to get these guys to sign, because in the past, you’ve seen people decommit right before signing day.”
Deep playoff runs in Texas high school football will be bookended by signing ceremonies, which matters to early enrollees like Blanton who might not get the chance to celebrate with teammates.
Another benefit for early signees, simply put, is less stress. Those players can be free of the drama and decommitments that often fill the last month before the February signing date.
Angleton safety and newly minted Texas commitment B.J. Foster — the state’s top-ranked safety, according to numerous recruiting services — has a chance to contribute to Tom Herman’s team from day one.
So he’ll sign in December and enroll early in Austin. The accelerated process makes sense to him.
“You don’t have to wait on all the paperwork just to commit or sign,” Foster said. “In December, that’s when it all ends.”
Cypress Springs safety Leon O’Neal committed to Texas A&M this month along with Katy Taylor defensive end Max Wright, giving the Aggies two of the more coveted players in a loaded 2018 class from the Greater Houston area.
Unlike some of his brethren, O’Neal is not graduating from high school early. But he still plans to sign in December and is having a hard time seeing many negatives to the new rule — except perhaps one.
“The only negative,” he said, “is when you have regrets.”