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When is college football early signing period? Dates, schedule for recruits
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- When is college football early signing period? Dates, schedule for recruits
This week, college football teams across the country will compete in conference championship games, helping to solidify the 12-team College Football Playoff field.
Days earlier, the building blocks for future league titles and playoff pushes will be putting pen to paper and setting up the sport's landscape for the years to come.
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College football's early signing period will commence this week, with a three-day stretch in which players can officially sign with schools they're already committed to or are waiting to give a pledge.
REQUIRED READING: What is early signing day? Explaining college football's early signing period
Signing day has long been one of the marquee events on the college football calendar that doesn't involve an actual game of some sort, with programs finalizing recruiting classes they hope can fulfill their championship dreams. Of course, there's pageantry with it, as well. News conferences are staged. Hats are neatly assorted in a row in front of cameras. Live animals occasionally get involved. For the first and maybe only time all year, people use a fax machine.
The early signing period has come to effectively replace the traditional signing day in February, with many of the country's top recruits signing with a program over a three-day stretch in December.
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Here's what you need to know heading into college football's early signing period, including the dates:
When is college football early signing period?
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Dates:Dec. 3-5
Division I football recruits have 72 hours in early December to sign with their preferred teams before National Signing Day. For the 2026 recruiting class, that begins on Wednesday, Dec. 3 and ends on Friday, Dec. 6. It has become the de fact National Signing Day in college football.
College football's early was moved up two weeks , beginning in 2024, to avoid it coinciding with the transfer portal window. The NCAA has since voted to change its transfer portal window from Jan. 2-16 in 2026.
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REQUIRED READING: Georgia among teams rising in college football's NCAA Re-Rank 1-136
When is National Signing Day in college football?
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Feb. 4, 2026
Though the vast majority of signings now occur in December, National Signing Day for Division I and II college football recruits is Feb. 4, 2026.
REQUIRED READING: CFP bubble breakdown: Alabama, Notre Dame claim lead in great bracket debate
College football recruiting team rankings
Here is a look at the top 10 classes heading into the early signing period, as compiled by 247Sports' Composite rankings :
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USC (34 commits)
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Georgia (31 commits)
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Alabama (23 commits)
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Notre Dame (27 commits)
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Oregon (19 commits)
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Ohio State (28 commits)
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Texas (24 commits)
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Tennessee (23 commits)
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Texas A&M (26 commits)
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Miami (29 commits)
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: When is college football early signing period? Dates, schedule
