Next Wednesday a free-for-all begins. College football now has an early signing period much like basketball has had for years. In addition to the regular period in early February football now has a very brief (December 20-22) window in which teams can lock in its recruits a few weeks earlier than normal. This is the first year for the early period, and it has been a new experience for everyone. Even Nick Saban has been up front on the difficulty of trying to figure out the signing logistics and nailing down recruits at a time when most schools are also going through bowl preparation.