Having gone through it for a sixth time at Clemson, Dabo Swinney likes college football’s early signing period. But that doesn’t mean the Tigers’ coach wouldn’t mind seeing even more tweaks to the recruiting calendar.

Wednesday marked the first day of the early signing period for the 2023 recruiting cycle, which starts a 72-hour period in which high school and junior college players are allowed to start putting pen to paper on their National Letters of Intent. Swinney’s program inked 27 scholarship players before the day was over.

It’s the fifth year that a December signing period has been in place since the NCAA added it to the recruiting calendar in 2017. But Swinney said he wouldn’t be opposed to allowing prospective student-athletes to start signing in August.

“With where we are today in college football, I think after Aug. 1 of your senior year, you should be able to sign anytime you want,” Swinney said.

Swinney is passionate about his reasoning.

Part of it, he said, is to protect the recruitment of high school players, which, for some programs, has been put on the backburner with the introduction of the one-time transfer rule, which allows any players transferring for the first time in their careers to be immediately eligible at their next stop. It’s given birth to the transfer portal, which Clemson has rarely used.

Only one of the Tigers’ signees Wednesday – former Alabama and Arizona State quarterback Paul Tyson – came from another four-year school. Clemson has brought in just three FBS transfers since the rule was introduced two recruiting cycles ago.

Swinney said allowing high school players to sign as soon as a school offers them a scholarship would keep those same programs from potentially reneging on those offers later.

“That right there would protect a lot of these fake offers and protect these kids from all of these fake offers. I think that’s important,” Swinney said. “And I think it would protect all these kids that are committed for a long time, and then all of a sudden the portal opens up and people see this portal guy and they call the high school kid back and say, ‘Hey, now you don’t have a scholarship here anymore.’ I think it ought to be earlier so those kids can lock into their school.”

If high school players are ready to sign with a certain school heading into their senior season, Swinney said, they shouldn’t have to wait to do so.

“All these guys that we had (sign Wednesday), they would’ve signed in June. They would’ve signed in July. They would’ve signed any time,” he said. “You sign 27 guys – 26 high school kids – and all 26 would’ve signed back in the summer. So I think leave it where it is, move it earlier or just say, ‘Hey, anytime after Aug. 1, you can sign.”

Swinney said he also believes signing earlier would be beneficial for coaches as well, particularly those who find themselves on the hot seat.

“It’s a really good class signed and committed already, and (the athletic director) might say, ‘Hey, you know what, if I fire this guy, (the players) can go wherever they want. I might give that guy another year or two,'” Swinney said. “So I think it’s good on both sides, to be honest with you.”

For now, December remains the earliest time of the year in which high school or junior college recruits can sign. Clemson could potentially add to its class when the traditional signing period rolls around in February.

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