The December, 2017 implementation of the Early Signing Day (ESD) period in college football was welcomed with mixed results. Many viewed it as an opportunity for underdog programs to actually reap the rewards of their scouting and persistence, getting their diamonds-in-the-rough to sign early without some blue blood swooping in at the last second in January/February and swaying them away. Others viewed it as a way to make it harder for elite talent to fall to the non-blue bloods and as further restrictions on the athletes themselves. Look no further than the timeline of hiring/firing assistant coaches, which has now fallen squarely on the week after ESD.
That New Coach Smell: The Effect on Recruiting
