Kansas State football coach Bill Snyder is not a fan of the new early signing period that will go into effect later this year. Nor does he support the elimination of two-a-days, which have long been a staple of preseason practice.
"People really ought to give some thought to the things they do before they do them," Snyder said earlier this week at a Catbackers event in Goddard, Kan. "So much of what has been done by the NCAA recently has not been well thought out, and you will see some changes. They will come around very quickly, because these won't work."
Snyder is most outspoken against the early signing period, which will allow recruits to sign with colleges Dec. 20-22 as well as in early February. The early and late signing periods will resemble the system used in other sports. In the past, high school football recruits could only sign in February.
Some assumed Snyder would be in favor of an early signing period, given that it would allow K-State to lock up committed recruits before other teams could come in late and try to flip them. That has been an issue at times for the Wildcats, but it isn't a big concern for Snyder.
He preferred the old system.
"It takes a lot of young people off the table very quickly," Snyder said of an early signing period. "The biggest nemesis is what it does in regards to your assistant coaches and opportunities for them to take time off. They need vacation and that kind of breaks into that."
Recruits will also be allowed to begin taking recruiting visits as early as April 1 of their junior year of high school in 2018, giving college coaches less time to evaluate prospects before seriously recruiting them.
Another drawback: it enhances the importance of in-season recruiting. Snyder prefers to focus on player development and game strategy while games are being played.
"It puts you in a position where, during the course of a season, you have to spend more time away from your own players and that is not fair to them," Snyder said. "I have always been a strong believer that your program is about the people that you have and you need to do due diligence to them. This kind of takes away from that."
Snyder isn't sure how he will handle college football's shift away from two-a-days this summer. New rules have eliminated multiple contact practices in a single day. The maximum now allowed is a single practice not to exceed three hours and a walk through without helmets or pads. The practice and walk through have to be separated by at least three continuous hours of recovery time.
The changes were made for player safety, and Snyder appreciates that. But the new system will mean more days in the heat for players and a longer camp.
"Whatever the new rules are, I will live with them," Snyder said, "but it is one of those things where I have my own opinion. Everyone has a different view point. That doesn't make mine always right. What is good for some is not always so good for others."
