re: So... Some things passed the NCAA vote...

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100% against this proposal, in no way is it in the student athletes best interest. The NCAA long ago whored itself out

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Big changes appear to be coming to the football recruiting calendar, and that's largely a positive several Alabama high school coaches told AL.com

The NCAA Division I Council approved a recommendation for a football early signing period today, which would allow seniors to sign during a 72-hour period beginning the third Wednesday of December.

The Collegiate Commissioners Association, which governs the National Letter of Intent program, must also sign off on the change at its June meeting before it can take effect. Currently, players cannot sign until the first Wednesday in February.

"Anything that gives our kids an opportunity to do what's best for them, I'm in absolute support of," James Clemens coach Wade Waldrop said. "It's just another opportunity for a high school athlete to take care of their business sooner than February. It gives those kids more security and more opportunity to make those decisions quicker and do what's best for them quicker and not be hanging on longer."

Waldrop's 2017 class included SEC signees LaBryan Ray (Alabama), Kyriq McDonald (Alabama, early enrollee) and Monty Rice (Georgia, after a late flip from LSU).

"A kid doesn't have to sign on that (December) date," Waldrop said. "Nobody is making them sign on that date. But if that option is on the table, and a kid knows what they want to do, then I think it's great that they're going to have the opportunity to do that."

Daphne coach and former Alabama defensive lineman Kenny King said the December date would have intrigued him as a high school player.

"I think I would have (signed early)," he said. "I think it would be good to go and get it behind you and focus on the job at hand."

Davidson coach Fred Riley, who spent nine years in the college ranks during the 1980s, noted that an early signing date falls in line with the increasing popularity of early enrollment.

"I have no problem with the December date," he said. "I don't see a big deal with it, one way or the other. The last few years, a lot of our kids have graduated in December anyhow and moved on, so it's beneficial for them. I don't see it affecting how we do things at all."

The early signing period would appear to benefit mid-major teams whose commitments are sometimes poached by Power Five programs in the lead up to National Signing Day.

"Some coaches are going to be glad because you don't lose as many guys toward the end of the signing period," Riley said, "where you have to go back and try to figure out which direction you're going to go. It gives them a chance, right before the new year, to regroup and say, 'OK, we've lost our top quarterback prospect. We're going to pursue our second one as hard as we can. Who's the next one we're really going to go for and do we have a chance to get him?' It makes recruiting meetings a little different in terms of how they make those type decisions."

One drawback to an earlier signing date is that the college coaching carousel tends to be very active during December and January. A player who signs early could find himself bound to a school with a new coaching staff that he never interacted with.

"You can preach and preach to the kids, 'Don't go somewhere because of a coach,'" Thompson coach Mark Freeman said, "but there's certain coaches who draw a kid because of their success and character. Those guys are professionals at what they do. The recruiting process with these big schools is a very organized system of knowing what to say and how to say it. I think kids get taken in by it even with the advice your give."

As part of the NCAA proposal, a first window for official visits would run from April of a player's junior year through the Sunday before the last Wednesday in June. Under current rules, players cannot take an official visit until their first day of senior classes.

Freeman, who likes the December signing date, said he couldn't fully agree with earlier visitation periods.

"I like the way it used to be when the kids were seniors and colleges could come through and recruit them," he said. "Now you see eighth graders getting offers. It takes a mature kid to handle that exposure. I don't feel good with anything that disrupts the total team. The thing that worries me is it almost feels like we're starting to individualize high school football. I hate that because what I love about coaching is building character and all the cohesiveness of being team that I feel goes a lot further with them in their life."

There had also been debate about adding an early signing period in June prior to a player's senior year, but that proposal was voted down.

"The summer date was an issue for all of us," Riley said. "What's to keep a kid from saying, 'Well, I've got my scholarship. I'm not going to play for my high school this year.'? Or they get halfway through the season, the season is going bad and they decide to do what some of these kids have done in college and not play in the bowl game. That was a recipe for disaster."

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