ROCK HILL, SC – FEBRUARY 14: Jadeveon Clowney announces his college football commitment to the University of South Carolina Gamecocks along side his mother Josenna Clowney and father David Clowney during a press conference at South Pointe High School on February 14, 2011 in Rock Hill, South Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

The NCAA D1 Council announced Friday morning they had voted to approve a proposed early signing period for college football.

As of now, there is only a spring(ish) signing period; you might know it, as it’s when various schools stream live feeds of a fax machine so fans can watch commits send in their letters of intent. Truly the spirit of amateurism.

SB Nation’s recruiting savant, Bud Elliott, broke down the details:

The NCAA’s Division I Council voted to approve a propsal that would allow an early college football National Signing Day rule Friday, setting up the Conference Commissioners Association (CCA) to give final approval in June.

The existing date of the first Wednesday in February will remain, but to it will be added a date right before Christmas, coinciding with the traditional junior college signing date. In 2016, that would have meant Dec. 14, but in 2017, will be Dec. 20. The new signing window would last for three days.

Offering an earlier period makes a lot of sense, for both the schools and the prospects. For high school recruits, being recruited can be a chore. Various letters, texts, phone calls, visits, and more take up a lot of time and attention, and there have to be a wide array who truly have their mind made up and want to sign prior to when they’re currently allowed.

They can commit verbally, but that won’t stop other teams from continuing to contact them. And if you think about it, if you went to college, when did you decide where you wanted to go? There’s a decent chance it was early in your senior year of high school. Of course, it’s not all great news for players; coaches tend to leave jobs before February, but after December, and that includes assistants and other key staff members.

If a player signs in December and their coach leaves or is asked to leave after that, they could be bound to play for someone they’ve never even spoken to. Or, worse, they could have that offer rescinded after the fact, which could leave them even further behind, since other schools may have dropped them off their lists entirely after they signed.

But, more options are never really a bad thing; there’s nothing forcing a prospect to sign, and as long as they’re aware of the possibilities, this generally seems like a favorable move. It’s not a done deal yet, though:

It might still be up in the air, but the first hurdle has been cleared, and it’s reasonable to expect that if the proposal had enough support to pass the NCAA vote, it will be implemented by the CCA as well.

[SB Nation]

About Jay Rigdon

Jay is a columnist at Awful Announcing. He is not a strong swimmer. He is probably talking to a dog in a silly voice at this very moment.