re: Class of 2017 Recruiting MEGATHREAD: Say Your Goodbyes Edition

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No hype around Shavers? 6'6 with a 4.38 laser? That sounds insane.

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Significant steps taken here the past two weeks mean the college football recruiting calendar is likely to soon change.

The NCAA’s Division I Council decided Wednesday to recommend a multi-pronged recruiting reform proposal that includes a mid-December signing day as an early option to the familiar first-Wednesday-in-February date.

The coaches had proposed the changes stemming from their meetings here at last week’s AFCA Convention.

All that separates the proposal from reality is an April meeting of the Collegiate Commissioners Association. The commissioners, who control the National Letter of Intent program, are expected to approve the layered proposal that had been discussed and debated for months by coaches and administrators.

As part of that discussion, an earlier proposal to have a June early signing date was eventually weeded out. Coaches said last week that it would have made academic and character evaluations too rushed, opening the door for unintended consequences.

Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen is on the NCAA Football Oversight Committee that met and talked Tuesday about the recruiting proposal. He said the coaches emerged from last week’s AFCA gathering with a “stronger voice, more unified voice.”

Mullen said Tuesday’s oversight meeting featured “compromises to move forward” within the proposal. Those compromises were met favorably by Wednesday’s NCAA Council, and it’s now up to the commissioners for a final stamp and implementation.

As support for the additional signing day, Northwestern AD and council chair Jim Phillips on Wednesday estimated that 70 percent of high school seniors are committed by Oct. 1. In the 247Sports Composite rankings for 2017, there are only three uncommitted prospects headed into Feb. 1's National Signing Day.

Corresponding with the mid-December signing option, rising seniors would be allowed to take official visits in April, May and June. They previously could not take those visits until the fall. That could make for busier springs and early summers for coaches — but it might also eliminate some of the postseason recruiting legwork.

Another piece of the proposal is for the addition of a 10th full-time assistant position to coaching staffs. That was widely supported by coaches, but some were fearful that administrators would eliminate the idea due to imbalanced budgets among schools.

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