Why was college football early signing day moved up? Recruiting calendar, key dates explained

The postseason has arrived for college football.

But before conference champions are crowned and the College Football Playoff field comes into clearer picture, the sports biggest recruiting event of the season will take place: early signing day.

The three day signing period that begins on Wednesday and runs through Friday is one of the busiest three-day stretches in the college football calendar.

REQUIRED READING: When is the 2024 college football early signing period? Dates, recruiting rankings for 2025 class

For college coaches it's a time for them to see the relationships built on the recruiting trail be cashed in as commitments and pieces added to the future of their program. While for recruits themselves, it's one of the biggest days of their lives as it is likely the first major decision they make for their future.

This year's early signing period will have several firsts involved, most notably the time it is taking place at as it has been moved three weeks up from past years.

As things currently sit, Kirby Smart and No. 5 Georgia have the No. 1 ranked 2025 recruiting class in the country according to 247Sports' Composite rankings. Headlining the Bulldogs' 2025 class is five-star defensive lineman Elijah Griffin, the No. 4 ranked player in the class per 247Sports' Composite.

Here's what you need to know on the change in the recruiting calendar this season heading into Wednesday's start of the early signing period in college football, including other key recruiting dates this year:

Why is college football early signing period different this year?

The move in the early signing period was made to relieve some of the chaos in the December recruiting calendar and process within college football.

The chaos in reference is, of course, the influx of players that have entered the transfer portal over the course of the last few seasons due to name, image and likeness (NIL) playing a bigger role and factor in college football (and college athletics) recruiting.

The Collegiate Commissioners Association, the governing body that oversees and administers the National Letter of Intent program in college athletics recruiting, announced the change to the early signing period in March.

"The biggest reason we’re doing this is to clear up the football recruiting calendar so the signing period and the transfer portal don’t overlap," Big Sky commissioner and chair of the National Letter of Intent subcommittee of the Collegiate Commissioners Association (CCA) Tom Wistrcill told The Athletic in Febraury. "The feedback we’ve received from all coaches is that December is a mess. Especially with the expansion of the CFP coming next year, that just creates more chaos in December. This should help."

Prior to this year, the early signing period in college football took place in late December around Christmas.

Do college football recruits still need to sign a NLI?

No. Starting this year, recruits no longer need to sign a Letter of Intent.

This change to the recruiting process, which was considered the binding agreement between a recruit and a program, was announced by the NCAA Division I Council back in October.

Instead of a NLI, athletes will agree to financial aid agreement with schools that will be used as a "contract related to an impending revenue-sharing model across college athletics" per ESPN. Similar to the NLI, once an athlete signs their written offer of athletics aid, other programs will not be allowed to communicate with them.

College football recruiting dates 2024-25

Here's a look at the key college football recruiting dates in 2024:

• Early Signing Period: Wednesday, Dec. 4 through Friday, Dec. 6

• Transfer Portal opens: Monday, Dec. 9 and through Saturday, Dec. 28

• Traditional Signing Period: Wednesday, Feb. 5 through Tuesday, April 1.

College football recruiting rankings 2025

As previously reported by USA Today, here’s a look at the top-ranked 2025 recruiting classes in the country, according to 247Sports’ Composite Rankings as of Monday, December 2:

• 1. Georgia (No. 1 SEC)

• 2. Alabama (No. 2 SEC)

• 3. Ohio State (No. 1 Big Ten)

• 4. Texas (No. 3 SEC)

• 5. Auburn (No. 4 SEC)

• 6. LSU (No. 5 SEC)

• 7. Oregon (No. 2 Big Ten)

• 8. Michigan (No. 3 Big Ten)

• 9. Tennessee (No. 6 SEC)

• 10. Texas A&M (No. 7 SEC)

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Why was 2024 college football earning signing period changed? Key dates, more