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Cade is out filming a documentary on the rise and fall of Riley Curry for the next couple of weeks, so in the meantime you're stuck with the rest of us for your morning link dumps. We'll try to keep our #takes hot in his absence.
SB Nation's Notre Dame blog One Foot Down recently took a step back and reflected on how their tenure in the ACC is going as the Irish approach their second season of an abbreviated slate of ACC games. The article doesn't bring forth any new information, but rather just provides some things to ponder concerning how things are different for the Irish now than they have been in recent years. Of note to me was the fact that there's some commentary included regarding the ACC's perceived conference strength and fans' concerns over that being a hindrance to national title hopes. I found that odd because Notre Dame has only three 10-win seasons in the last two decades and lost 2 of their 4 ACC games last year, indicating that there are probably some things they could work to fix before conference strength becomes their biggest resume concern. Those in glass houses...
Not even a week ago, we told you how Georgia Tech had offered California QB Victor Viramontes, joining very few elite schools on his list of offers. Yesterday, Viramontes committed to Michigan, which was hot on the tail of the Jackets when it came to offering the young prospect. Easy come, easy go...
Ken Sugiura recently gave a quick update on the status of former Georgia Tech players Travis Custis, Anthony Autry, and Myles Autry, all of whom had joined on at Hutchinson Community College in Kansas. (I use the term 'player' here in a loose sense, as only Anthony ever made it into a game in a Georgia Tech uniform, while Custis only made it to practice and Myles never even reported in the first place.) Of the three, Anthony is the only one that's found a new home (Texas A&M - Kingsville, about 45 minutes outside of Corpus Christi). Meanwhile, Custis remains a semester away from finishing his associate's degree at Hutchinson and has drawn interest from a few big-time programs, whereas Myles is still working through concerns over his high school transcript and disciplinary issues.
Finally, in what could end up being a huge moment for Georgia Tech's program (and therefore its fans), the Collegiate Commissioners Association will vote this week on instituting an early signing period in college football, where there would exist a three-day window (December 16-18 in 2015) in which high school prospects would be able to sign Letters of Intent and lock in their spot with the college of their choice. The vote is expected to come back confirming the addition of such a period, with the addition happening in 2015 (meaning players currently committed to Georgia Tech would have the opportunity to sign early). The Yellow Jackets stand to benefit mightily from such a rule, as laid out in the article, given their efficiency in scouting. Georgia Tech has routinely found under-the-radar players and gotten huge returns from them, and those returns would likely only grow if players weren't as likely to be picked up late in the process by schools who missed on more big-name prospects. Then again, the Jackets may also find themselves in the "schools requiring more information" category if recruiting players that are "on the bubble" grade-wise, so to speak. If those players are unable to produce fall semester grades prior to the end of the early signing period, they'll be free game again until the traditional National Signing Day.
Do you like the idea of an early signing period? Would it help Georgia Tech? Would it be an all-around good thing, or are there some potentially major downsides?