Clemson Football: Is the February National Signing Day fading away?
Is the traditional February National Signing Day in its glory and luster fading away? It certainly is if you’re a Clemson football fan.
Since the introduction of the early National Signing Day, the day in February that has traditionally been a huge day for College Football fans hasn’t been the same.
That statement is especially true if you’re a Clemson football fan.
The Tigers have had very little drama or things to watch by the time you’ve gotten to February the last couple of years.
All of the Clemson football commitments basically have signed their National Letters of Intent in December, leaving just a handful of targets on the board for the rest of January.
It’s not just Clemson where we’re seeing this change.
Almost all of your top recruits in the past two classes have signed during the Early National Signing Day. There are a few prospects who have continued their recruitment into January and committed at an All-American game, but even they are committing before the traditional National Signing Day.
As a matter of fact, let’s take a look at the 2019 class.
In 247 Sports’ top-50, only four prospects are currently uncommitted. Recruits are making their decisions faster and committing earlier.
There are more early enrollees now, as well, compared to 10-15 years ago. Guys are getting ahead on their schoolwork so that they can get to college earlier. By arriving on campus a full semester ahead of time, they’re able to compete for playing time faster and get ahead in their studies. That’s because many of them are pushing to graduate in three years and pursue a career in the NFL.
As this landscape changes, so will the traditional February National Signing Day.
I remember when National Signing Day was a day in which fans took off work to stay at home and watch high school players select the school of their choice. Most of the time with hats on the table.
That’s changing.
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While I still believe we’ll see the whole “hats on the table” decision, it’s going to be become more and more prevalent in December. You may see a handful of prospects hold out until February, but more and more of them are going to be making their decision come December.
February’s National Signing Day is slowly fading away and it’s just one of several major changes we’ve seen to the landscape of College Football in recent years.