This morning on Sirius, Tom Luginbill was once again extolling the virtues of the early signing period. Luginbill argued that the early signing period "gives kids an out" they didn't have before. With early signing, if recruits are uncertain about their college choice on Dec. 20, they can wait until Feb. 7 after they've had more time to think.

Luginbill has it backwards. The early signing period does not give kids a new out; rather, it takes away an out from the schools. Even with early signing, the final "drop dead" date is still effectively = Feb. 7 (unless you're Terrelle Pryor). Consider the following Dec. 20 scenarios:

Scenario 1: Johnny is certain he wants to go to State University, which had offered him a "commit-able" scholarship, AND State University is certain that it wants Johnny. In this scenario, nothing really changes under early signing except that the "wedding" is moved up a couple of weeks.

Scenario 2: Johnny is certain he wants to marry State University, but State University is having second thoughts. Before the early signing period, State University could play coy all through December and into early February, using Johnny as a "fallback" option. In this scenario, early signing puts State University in a shotgun wedding situation thereby taking away its post-Dec. 20 "out."

Scenario 3: Johnny is having second thoughts, but State University is still certain it wants Johnny. Before early signing, Johnny would either break the news to State University, giving State University a fair chance to "move on," or would play coy with State University all through December and into early February, using State University as a fallback option. Under early signing, Johnny just chooses not to sign on Dec. 20. Either way, Johnny has an "out" on Dec. 20. It's only on Feb. 7 that Johnny runs out of outs.

The only way that Luginbill's point makes sense is if he's assuming that kids approach major cfb recruiting like they do homework: always procrastinating, never getting serious about the "assignment" until they see that the due date is only a few days away. In other words, Johnny doesn't really get serious about making his final decision about where he will go to college until a signing day is rapidly approaching. If I'm trying to make sense of Luginbill's logic . . . before early signing, Johnny wouldn't get serious until, say, Feb. 2, and now he has no "outs" left after that date. Under early signing, he gets serious about his decision around Dec. 15 because a "due date" is approaching. If he can't make up his mind on Dec. 20, though, he still has an out. What procrastinating kid wouldn't love it if the teacher says, "you have one assignment, and you can either turn it on Dec. 20 or Feb. 7?"

But I don't believe kids approach recruiting this way at all . . . because it's fun to think about where they'll play college ball. I would hazard to say that they spend a lot of time thinking about - fantasizing and obsessing about - this decision for many months before Dec. 20/Feb. 7. And for those kids who still can't make up their minds despite agonizing over the decision for months, the "drop dead" date is still Feb. 7, just like before.