Majority of college coaches favor early signing period
After Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez convinced a wide receiver to switch his commitment hours before national signing day, Purdue coach Joe Tiller’s terse response ran in newspapers across the country.
“If we had an early signing date, you wouldn’t have another outfit with a guy in a wizard hat selling snake oil to get a guy at the last minute,” Tiller said. “But that’s what happened.”
Many football coaches have experienced similar situations. That’s why there’s growing sentiment college football needs an early signing day similar to basketball.
In a recent poll conducted by The Oklahoman, more than 77 percent of the 119 Division I-A football coaches favored an early signing period. A few prefer August, but the majority chose December to supplement the traditional February date.
“It’s been gaining momentum the past few years,” said Washington coach Tyrone Willingham, president of the American Football Coaches Association. “I know a lot of coaches are frustrated. But we need to be very prudent. We have to look very carefully at all the issues.”
The No. 1 problem is what date to choose?
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7/6/08
