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Coaches Mostly Positive About NCAA Changes

The Timeline of College Recruiting is Changing

As you know, the NCAA Division I Council is expected in June to add the Dec. 20-22 signing period for football. Players that do not sign during this period will have to wait until the regular February Signing Day.

In addition, the NCAA voted to add and official visit period from April 1 to late June of their junior years. The legislation doesn't go into effect until Aug. 1, so the Class of 2019 prospects will be the first class affected.

Conversation with coaches brought to light some possible issues with changes to the recruiting timeline. We polled Texas high school football coaches to see what they think of the changes. Here is what they said:

Q1 What is your overall opinion of a December signing period?

  • Good move 56.2%
  • Bad move 31.5%
  • No opinion 12.3%

As you can see, most of the coaches like the December signing period.

Q2 What do you think of the visits beginning April 1st?

  • I like it 67.1%
  • I dislike it 23.3%
  • No opinion 9.6%

Opening up official visits on April 1st is the portion of the NCAA's decision that is the most universally approved.

Q3 Will a December signing date hurt title game participation?

  • Most likely 27.4%
  • I doubt it 49.3%
  • Not sure 23.3%

When asked specifically if the December signing period could affect championship participation, close to 30% thought it could. as usual, when you look at the ramifications of any changes that affect Texas high school football, there are consequences that aren't immediately obvious. For that reason, we asked for their input as well as simply choosing a poll option. The anonymous comments coaches shared with us are always where we get the best information. Here are some of those:

"Visits in spring will hurt other sports (track, baseball, and spring football)."

"I think kids during football season already have enough going on to worry about. This is just something else to add to their plate. I haven't even thought about whether or not a kid would choose not to participate after they sign but its definitely a possibility."

" (I) think that the title game participation will only be affected if the college coaches allow something of that nature to happen. These athletes, for the most part, will listen to the advice and mentor-ship of the high school head coach, but the college coaches can have a great deal of influence in these decisions as well."

"We now live in an ESPN society where every athlete wants their fame, but also wants it publicized. They all want to sit at a table with four hats to choose from so the entire nation is watching. Another signing period will escalate this mentality. It is not about getting the opportunity to continue their education with the possibility of playing at the next level anymore. A very small percentage of high school athletes get the opportunity to play Division I athletics, and an even smaller percentage of playing at the professional level. We have created a monster that we will never be able to get back from. Parents today blame their children's coaches for not meeting the expectations of them (parents). An extra signing period will only add fuel to the fire. The signing periods are not the problem, the exposure on national television and media is the problem."

"The early signing period has only provided relief for a six week period. The negative of taking away from state title games outweighs the benefits for such a short window."

"We were against it because the Texas playoffs extend beyond the signing date and didn't want the focus for those still playing to be on anything else. Also we are concerned what happens to players who sign with a school who then loses their head coach before January. We also see that it could be productive in that some colleges will not be able to continue to over recruit on their early commits. Also may give some athletes a better idea of where they stand with a certain college prior to the later signing date if they were not signed early."

"I think this will prove to be a popular decision for everyone."

"I think that high school teams have enough distractions getting ready for playoff games and such as not to add to those distractions. I realize the benefit to the college coaches, but I think it complicates game preparations for high school guys."

In addition, I had a conversation with Rusty Dowling - Executive Director of the Texas High School Athletic Directors Association (THSADA) he says, "I’ve talked to several AD’s about the new NCAA rulings" He shared the consensus on each of these issues:

On early signing, "Most are in favor of the early signing. Get it done and over so kids can focus on their classes and any other sport they play."

On earlier official visits, "Again, most AD's are in favor. Allow students (and parents) the opportunity to take these visits when it’s not as obstructive for classes and missing school time. Some AD’s are against it as they would like to see an early-summer signing. Beneficial to those teams still in the December playoffs."

We can see several possible issues with the new timing, but as usual, we will not know the real pros and cons until it actually happens. We will all be watching this very closely.

by Chris Doelle

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