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February Recruiting Thread (2 Viewers)

dom91932

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From The Athletic:


What recruiting rules would college football staffers change? ‘Blow up the entire system’​


By Ari Wasserman


A recruiting staffer at a Power 5 program was asked a simple question: If you could change one NCAA recruiting rule, what would it be and why?

“Blow up the entire system,” he said.

It’s a funny remark, but there’s truth to it. That sentiment is shared by just about everyone who works in a recruiting department in college football. It doesn’t matter where they work or at what level their program competes, everyone has grievances about either the recruiting calendar and/or nonsensical rules they must follow while trying to operate in what has become an untenable work/life balance.

Sifting through responses from 10 recruiting staffers at the Power 5 level, it’s hard to gauge which rules are actually bad and which ones people don’t like simply because of their current circumstances.

The truth is, there is no pleasing everyone in this sport. What works for a staffer at a program competing to win the national title doesn’t necessarily work for someone who works at a Power 5 bottom-feeder or even an elite-level Group of 5 program.

But things need to change. The system is broken.

“The NCAA has worked to make changes over the last few years, but they are small changes that have ripple effects on the entire calendar,” said a staffer. “It’s time to blow it all up and start over. And when they do so, please have personnel guys in these meetings, people that are in the thick of it and are affected by these changes in their everyday work lives. It’s 2024 and the NCAA still won’t acknowledge the fact that college football and personnel has changed. Give us a seat at the table to provide input, and valuable input at that.”

So with national signing day (the old-school version) just two days away, let’s hear what these staffers are saying and take a closer look at a few recruiting rules/events that could be changed. They were granted anonymity so they could speak candidly.

What should signing day look like?​

The early signing window was introduced with the Class of 2018. It was a much simpler time. No NIL. No transfer portal windows. And only four teams were invited to the College Football Playoff. So it made sense to allow prospects to make it official and sign their national letters in December instead of the traditional signing day in February.

The sport has changed dramatically since then.

“December is not working,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said at Cotton Bowl media day.

Every recruiting staffer The Athletic spoke with agreed that it’s no longer viable to conduct an early signing period during such a busy time — though it was hard to get people to agree on one plan.

What are the options?

Option A: Let prospects sign whenever they want

Why is there a national signing day at all?

“I still think that’s better than having everyone wait for one centralized day,” a staffer said. “In the world of decommitments, roster spots filling up, the portal, why are we asking all of these kids to hold up while our rosters are constantly changing? … Some teams push high school kids out who have been waiting seven or eight months to sign with the school when unforeseen roster situations happen.

“To me, you let the kid sign when he commits. It protects the kid and it holds the team accountable that you can’t switch up when the roster shifts. You need to manage your roster better. It’s not fair to the high school kids to make them wait and then your needs change based on what happens with your current roster.”

There are downsides to that, too. Prospects would be pressured to sign the second they want to commit, which could remove the opportunity for a late bloomer to level up and sign with a bigger, more successful program later in the process. Pressuring teenagers to sign on the spot is less than ideal.

On the other hand, it would also help curtail non-committable offers, commitment flips and last-second NIL deals that blow up recruiting classes.

“Retention is as important as getting new players,” the staffer continued. “That is as (big of a) part of roster management as recruiting and portal. If we’re talking about guys in my position and you want to pay GMs like position coaches, we have to deal with those challenges. People want the easy way so this isn’t a popular opinion, but it creates more of an emphasis on proper roster management.”

Option B: Make the early signing period, well, early

Why is the early signing period only six or seven weeks before the February signing day? If you’re going to do it, do it.

Move the early signing window to late July — after the spring official visit season — and allow the players who have made up their minds to sign. If they aren’t ready, they can wait until the first Wednesday in February.

The percentage of prospects who sign in the summer wouldn’t be as high as what we currently see in December (it will be much earlier, after all), but it would give coaching staffs some modicum of stability heading into the fall. It would take some of the workload off their plates and allow them to focus more on the portal in December and have a clearer picture of high school needs as they head into the new year.

This also removes the nonsensical practice of having kids sign in the middle of the coaching carousel season. Imagine being introduced as a head coach on Dec. 8 and having to sign 15 to 25 high school recruits two weeks later.

And to address the inevitable changes that do happen, if a prospect signs in the summer and the head coach gets fired at any point before the player enrolls, his NLI is null and void.

There would still be some pressure on kids to sign early, but maybe that would slow down the number of early commitments. That would also, in theory, cut down on uncommittable offers because prospects would know where they stand if a program doesn’t let them sign in the summer even though they have been “offered.” In the end, evaluation is crucial because if a staff offers a kid early — before they are fully developed — they have to take him and live with the consequence of signing a player who can’t contribute at that level.

Option C: Go back to the old way

Changes don’t always mean improvement. So maybe we should go back to the old way where prospects can sign only in February.

And let’s be clear, it’s highly unlikely that the portal window will change despite what you hear from some coaches. That has to be in December so players can have enough time to take some visits and make a decision in time to enroll at their new school in January.

So let coaches and staffers worry about the portal — not high school prospects — in December. This also allows rosters to take shape so programs would have a better idea of what their specific needs are when February rolls around and they have to sign their high school prospects.

All three options alleviate some pressure December has created.

“There’s no way possible for us to have a 12-team Playoff next year and be recruiting in an open period and have transfer portal additions and subtractions going on and preparing for a game,” Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz said at Cotton Bowl media availability. “It’s just not possible. There’s going to have to be a reset of college football, looking back, ‘OK, this is what we’ve become now.’”

Let recruiting staffers travel​

You regularly hear head coaches refer to their recruiting staffers as some of the most important members of their entire program. These people evaluate film, create travel itineraries, host visitors, make initial contact with prospects, recruit those prospects and their families and much more. Yet they aren’t allowed to get on the road and scout in person?

“More times than not, the personnel staff is watching more evaluation tape than coaches,” a staffer said. “They typically have a leg up when comparing players and pointing things out. It’s easier for us to go to (a high school) practice or a game than a coach because they have (our) practices and meetings to worry about in the season.”

A staffer said: “We are usually the first to identify, evaluate and communicate with these kids and their parents. Let the coaches focus on winning games during the season and let us go out and recruit. I live one block away from the high school where I’m at. They have had one D-I walk-on in the last seven years, and I can’t even take my son to go watch the game because of these rules.”

If recruiting staffers are paid to evaluate prospects, it seems strange not to allow them to evaluate those prospects in person.

“In the NFL, scouts go on the road, right?” Alabama general manager Courtney Morgan said.

Make the dead periods dead​

Simply put, these recruiting staffers are underpaid and overworked. Even when they aren’t in the office, they are glued to their phones because there is no such thing as being done for the day. Recruiting never sleeps.

“I can’t even go to dinner with my wife without my cell phone on the table,” a staffer said. “It’s non-stop.”

“I’ve had five days off since August,” another said. “Maybe less. It may be four. … It didn’t used to be like this. I haven’t even had time to think about (changes). That’s how bad the calendar is.”

That’s what you sign up for when you take one of these jobs. And for the most part, these staffers love what they do. But they are people, too, and they’re entitled to a break — especially considering they aren’t compensated nearly as much as assistant coaches.

“Just go ahead and make it unlimited phone calls year round except during a dead period,” a staffer said. “Make the dead periods actually dead like some sports.”

Cut the 1-mile rule on unofficial visits​

When prospects come to campus for an unofficial visit — meaning, they have paid their way to come to campus (or someone other than the school they are visiting has paid) — coaches are not allowed to travel farther than one mile to visit with the players and their families.

“What if your campus isn’t close to anything?” a staffer asked. “What if there are no restaurants closer than 1.1 miles away? I don’t think there should be any limit as long as you’re in the damn area code. What does it matter?”

Obviously, there has to be some restriction because if there is a rule, people will take advantage of it. Rules aren’t made to be broken in college football — they’re made to be abused.

But staying within the area code seems like a much better guideline.
 

LoudHogRider

Yells at Clouds
Elite Member
tPB OG
Messages
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From The Athletic:


What recruiting rules would college football staffers change? ‘Blow up the entire system’​


By Ari Wasserman


A recruiting staffer at a Power 5 program was asked a simple question: If you could change one NCAA recruiting rule, what would it be and why?

“Blow up the entire system,” he said.

It’s a funny remark, but there’s truth to it. That sentiment is shared by just about everyone who works in a recruiting department in college football. It doesn’t matter where they work or at what level their program competes, everyone has grievances about either the recruiting calendar and/or nonsensical rules they must follow while trying to operate in what has become an untenable work/life balance.

Sifting through responses from 10 recruiting staffers at the Power 5 level, it’s hard to gauge which rules are actually bad and which ones people don’t like simply because of their current circumstances.

The truth is, there is no pleasing everyone in this sport. What works for a staffer at a program competing to win the national title doesn’t necessarily work for someone who works at a Power 5 bottom-feeder or even an elite-level Group of 5 program.

But things need to change. The system is broken.

“The NCAA has worked to make changes over the last few years, but they are small changes that have ripple effects on the entire calendar,” said a staffer. “It’s time to blow it all up and start over. And when they do so, please have personnel guys in these meetings, people that are in the thick of it and are affected by these changes in their everyday work lives. It’s 2024 and the NCAA still won’t acknowledge the fact that college football and personnel has changed. Give us a seat at the table to provide input, and valuable input at that.”

So with national signing day (the old-school version) just two days away, let’s hear what these staffers are saying and take a closer look at a few recruiting rules/events that could be changed. They were granted anonymity so they could speak candidly.

What should signing day look like?​

The early signing window was introduced with the Class of 2018. It was a much simpler time. No NIL. No transfer portal windows. And only four teams were invited to the College Football Playoff. So it made sense to allow prospects to make it official and sign their national letters in December instead of the traditional signing day in February.

The sport has changed dramatically since then.

“December is not working,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said at Cotton Bowl media day.

Every recruiting staffer The Athletic spoke with agreed that it’s no longer viable to conduct an early signing period during such a busy time — though it was hard to get people to agree on one plan.

What are the options?

Option A: Let prospects sign whenever they want

Why is there a national signing day at all?

“I still think that’s better than having everyone wait for one centralized day,” a staffer said. “In the world of decommitments, roster spots filling up, the portal, why are we asking all of these kids to hold up while our rosters are constantly changing? … Some teams push high school kids out who have been waiting seven or eight months to sign with the school when unforeseen roster situations happen.

“To me, you let the kid sign when he commits. It protects the kid and it holds the team accountable that you can’t switch up when the roster shifts. You need to manage your roster better. It’s not fair to the high school kids to make them wait and then your needs change based on what happens with your current roster.”

There are downsides to that, too. Prospects would be pressured to sign the second they want to commit, which could remove the opportunity for a late bloomer to level up and sign with a bigger, more successful program later in the process. Pressuring teenagers to sign on the spot is less than ideal.

On the other hand, it would also help curtail non-committable offers, commitment flips and last-second NIL deals that blow up recruiting classes.

“Retention is as important as getting new players,” the staffer continued. “That is as (big of a) part of roster management as recruiting and portal. If we’re talking about guys in my position and you want to pay GMs like position coaches, we have to deal with those challenges. People want the easy way so this isn’t a popular opinion, but it creates more of an emphasis on proper roster management.”

Option B: Make the early signing period, well, early

Why is the early signing period only six or seven weeks before the February signing day? If you’re going to do it, do it.

Move the early signing window to late July — after the spring official visit season — and allow the players who have made up their minds to sign. If they aren’t ready, they can wait until the first Wednesday in February.

The percentage of prospects who sign in the summer wouldn’t be as high as what we currently see in December (it will be much earlier, after all), but it would give coaching staffs some modicum of stability heading into the fall. It would take some of the workload off their plates and allow them to focus more on the portal in December and have a clearer picture of high school needs as they head into the new year.

This also removes the nonsensical practice of having kids sign in the middle of the coaching carousel season. Imagine being introduced as a head coach on Dec. 8 and having to sign 15 to 25 high school recruits two weeks later.

And to address the inevitable changes that do happen, if a prospect signs in the summer and the head coach gets fired at any point before the player enrolls, his NLI is null and void.

There would still be some pressure on kids to sign early, but maybe that would slow down the number of early commitments. That would also, in theory, cut down on uncommittable offers because prospects would know where they stand if a program doesn’t let them sign in the summer even though they have been “offered.” In the end, evaluation is crucial because if a staff offers a kid early — before they are fully developed — they have to take him and live with the consequence of signing a player who can’t contribute at that level.

Option C: Go back to the old way

Changes don’t always mean improvement. So maybe we should go back to the old way where prospects can sign only in February.

And let’s be clear, it’s highly unlikely that the portal window will change despite what you hear from some coaches. That has to be in December so players can have enough time to take some visits and make a decision in time to enroll at their new school in January.

So let coaches and staffers worry about the portal — not high school prospects — in December. This also allows rosters to take shape so programs would have a better idea of what their specific needs are when February rolls around and they have to sign their high school prospects.

All three options alleviate some pressure December has created.

“There’s no way possible for us to have a 12-team Playoff next year and be recruiting in an open period and have transfer portal additions and subtractions going on and preparing for a game,” Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz said at Cotton Bowl media availability. “It’s just not possible. There’s going to have to be a reset of college football, looking back, ‘OK, this is what we’ve become now.’”

Let recruiting staffers travel​

You regularly hear head coaches refer to their recruiting staffers as some of the most important members of their entire program. These people evaluate film, create travel itineraries, host visitors, make initial contact with prospects, recruit those prospects and their families and much more. Yet they aren’t allowed to get on the road and scout in person?

“More times than not, the personnel staff is watching more evaluation tape than coaches,” a staffer said. “They typically have a leg up when comparing players and pointing things out. It’s easier for us to go to (a high school) practice or a game than a coach because they have (our) practices and meetings to worry about in the season.”

A staffer said: “We are usually the first to identify, evaluate and communicate with these kids and their parents. Let the coaches focus on winning games during the season and let us go out and recruit. I live one block away from the high school where I’m at. They have had one D-I walk-on in the last seven years, and I can’t even take my son to go watch the game because of these rules.”

If recruiting staffers are paid to evaluate prospects, it seems strange not to allow them to evaluate those prospects in person.

“In the NFL, scouts go on the road, right?” Alabama general manager Courtney Morgan said.

Make the dead periods dead​

Simply put, these recruiting staffers are underpaid and overworked. Even when they aren’t in the office, they are glued to their phones because there is no such thing as being done for the day. Recruiting never sleeps.

“I can’t even go to dinner with my wife without my cell phone on the table,” a staffer said. “It’s non-stop.”

“I’ve had five days off since August,” another said. “Maybe less. It may be four. … It didn’t used to be like this. I haven’t even had time to think about (changes). That’s how bad the calendar is.”

That’s what you sign up for when you take one of these jobs. And for the most part, these staffers love what they do. But they are people, too, and they’re entitled to a break — especially considering they aren’t compensated nearly as much as assistant coaches.

“Just go ahead and make it unlimited phone calls year round except during a dead period,” a staffer said. “Make the dead periods actually dead like some sports.”

Cut the 1-mile rule on unofficial visits​

When prospects come to campus for an unofficial visit — meaning, they have paid their way to come to campus (or someone other than the school they are visiting has paid) — coaches are not allowed to travel farther than one mile to visit with the players and their families.

“What if your campus isn’t close to anything?” a staffer asked. “What if there are no restaurants closer than 1.1 miles away? I don’t think there should be any limit as long as you’re in the damn area code. What does it matter?”

Obviously, there has to be some restriction because if there is a rule, people will take advantage of it. Rules aren’t made to be broken in college football — they’re made to be abused.

But staying within the area code seems like a much better guideline.
There are some really good suggestions in that article. Thanks for sharing it, Dom.
 

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