The Georgia Athletic Coaches Association and the Georgia Football Coaches Association on Thursday released a joint statement on Thursday against the prospect of a June signing period in college football.
The Collegiate Commissioners Association, which runs the National Letter of Intent program, this month moved the December signing period forward three weeks, and tabled the idea of a new early signing period that would begin the last Wednesday in June.
However, the CCA said the June signing period could begin in 2025, and the GACA and GFCA would like to stop it from happening.
A summer signing period has yet to happen in college football out of a fear that seniors, having just signed scholarship papers, would then opt out of their senior year of high school football.
"Well, if a kid doesn't play his senior year because he signed, I don't really want him on my team," Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said Tuesday. "If he's going to opt out for his senior year, will he do the same to me? I don't really know if that's a viable option. I don't like the idea of someone signing before their senior year because I think the senior year matters."
The fear of re-classifying is that, essentially, there would be no senior year for a recruit to opt out of. Players with enough credits would sign their paperwork and then join their college program immediately.
The CCA has pushed for a summer signing period because June has now become a crucial month for high school recruiting. The import placed on portal recruiting has taken scholarships from high school recruits, and so the thinking is more opportunities for high schoolers to sign before the portal opens means more opportunities for high schoolers to sign scholarship papers, period.
Clearly, it's a delicate balance, and we'll see if Georgia's statement inspires other state high school coaches' associations to speak out as well.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.
Update: The Alabama high school coaches association has also come out against a June signing period.
“There is a proposed early June signing period for high school players. This would mean that athletes would sign with colleges prior to their senior football season. We believe this is not good for high school football as it would lead to possible re-classifying, senior opt-outs and other issues. Therefore, the ALFCA stands strongly against this proposal. We hope that the decision makers will honor our concerns as a coaches association and urge other state associations to share their concerns about the June signing period.”