Coaches criticize early signing period changes

AMELIA ISLAND — For Pitt football coach Pat Narduzzi, the new college football early signing period in December couldn’t come at a worse time.

The three-day period approved by the NCAA and ratified by the Collegiate Commissioners Association lands in the middle of bowl preparation and the holiday season.

“I have four kids and I don’t think I’ve bought a Christmas gift — my wife does all that. Now I’m going to have to get my kids to buy a gift for my wife,” Narduzzi said during the ACC’s spring meetings Wednesday.

Narduzzi may have been joking, but ACC coaches aren’t laughing about the impact a new early signing period from Dec. 20-22 has on their schedules.

“I was never for that. I always wanted it earlier to take a lot of pressure off kids and coaches,” Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher said of allowing recruits to sign letters of intent during the three-day window in December in addition to the traditional signing period that starts the first Wednesday in February.

Fisher had long supported the early signing period being added in August before the start of a high school recruit’s senior season, but NCAA leadership went with the December window instead.

“You’re getting ready for a bowl game or playoff game and you’re practicing all day and you’re flying out all night, getting back at 2 a.m. and getting up at 6 a.m.,” Fisher said of the December signing window. “You’re going to be doing that for two-anda-half or three weeks. You’re going to be drained because it’s a National Signing Day.”

The addition of an early signing period has been discussed for years, but it was difficult to reach a consensus on when the period should open. In January, the NCAA Division I Council approved a December signing period as part of a sweeping recruiting reform package after the date gained momentum among various groups.

Despite initial support for the December window from the American Football Coaches Association, many of the coaches at the ACC spring meetings struggled to find much positive to say about the early signing period that will put extra pressure on their staff members.

“I think we’re making a huge mistake on the recruiting calendar,” Miami coach Mark Richt said. “I don’t know if anybody who’s really for it. We’re trying to figure it out ourselves.”

Part of the new recruiting legislation includes opening up a period of official visits for recruits in April, May and June beginning in 2018. In the past, official visits didn’t begin until the start of the school year in the fall. The additional three months means coaches and their staff could wind up spending close to eight months of the year focused on recruiting.

Richt added, “Am I going to have him [high school recruit] come in April if he’s not signing until December? That’s a long time. You want that official visit as close to the day that he’s going to sign. If he’s going to sign at December, you’re going to visit during the season and if he’s going to sign in February, you target them in January.”