Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1514597
5 6 F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 4 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M F or Penn State and every major football program, December has become an absolute mess. I'm sure you've read this a lot over the past few months. For fans, it's fun. Many have a bowl game to look forward to. There's also the early signing period, which may not pro- duce the drama we saw a decade ago but still gives fans a reason to tune in and get excited about the future. Then there's the transfer portal, which helps generate ex- citement for next season. Many will pre- tend they hate all of this, but the traffic numbers at Blue White Illustrated's web- site suggest that people can't get enough. Let's put the transfer portal to the side for the moment. Because of aca- demic schedules, college football can't spread everything out like the NFL does. The NCAA can try, and likely will make changes in the future. For the time being, however, I don't see how the transfer portal could be sealed up. If the NCAA tried to restrict player movement between the fall and spring semesters, it would be challenged in court. They know this. I do think there's a fix that could be implemented eventually, but we're still a few years away. I'll come back to this later. Regarding the early signing period, there are some changes that could be put in place relatively soon. There has been much speculation about this topic, but the pundits often miss a cru- cial point: It's not the early signing pe- riod that is causing all the problems. It's the work leading up to it. The December Contact Period Needs To End The real issue in December is all the legwork that coaches and recruiting personnel must put in prior to the early signing period. For two-plus weeks this past December, Penn State's coaches spent time in just about every corner of the country. We tracked James Franklin one day flying from Las Vegas to New Mexico to St. Louis in the span of about eight hours. And if the schedule was hectic this past year for Penn State's staff and their counterparts at other schools, imagine what it will be like next December when the College Football Playoff expands to 12 teams. The first round of 2024 CFP games is scheduled for Dec. 20 and Dec. 21. The quarterfinals will then take place Dec. 31 and Jan. 1, with the semi- finals and championship game coming later in January. Are schools really going to send coaches out on the road ahead of the four biggest games of the season? The four teams with a bye week can oper- ate much as they did this year, but it's hard to see how teams playing in the first round will be able to juggle all of their priorities and still put their best foot forward in the playoff. WINTER OF DISCONTENT Everyone in college football would benefit if December were no longer the culmination of the recruiting cycle RYA N S N Y D E R | RYA N . S N Y D E R @ O N 3 . C O M James Franklin and Andy Frank, Penn State's general manager of personnel and recruitment, have teamed up to keep the Nittany Lions competitive amid the flurry of changes that have affected recruiting and roster management. PHOTO BY RYAN SNYDER