When is college football early signing day for 2026 athletes?
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College football early signing day in December has become the most anticipated recruiting day of the year.
There are crunch-time flips and anticipated decisions. Anything can happen.
From Georgia football commit Jared Curtis’ dramatic recruitment to Tennessee football signee Joel Wyatt, class of 2026 recruits around the state and across the nation will finalize their decisions during the annual three-day period this week.
The early period is when most elite high school football seniors sign. Many will also enroll early.
Early signing day this season is even more complicated than usual due to an extraordinarily high number of coaching changes in college football this season.
Here’s what you need to know about early signing day 2025.
When is early signing day for college football in 2025?
The early college football signing day period runs from Dec. 3-5.
Athletes now sign financial agreements, not National Letters of Intent, when finalizing their commitments. The agreements guarantee financial reward for one academic year.
Is there only one signing day?
No. The regular signing window in February will still have its share of signings, including some top-tier talent.
Will Jared Curtis flip to Vanderbilt football?
Georgia five-star quarterback commitment Jared Curtis is the top recruiting story nationally as Vanderbilt football has made a late push for him.
The argument can be made that Curtis is the SEC’s biggest storyline right now, outside of Lane Kiffin’s departure from Ole Miss and the final order of College Football Playoff bids. An elite QB flipping from Georgia to Vanderbilt would be a first in the conference.
Multiple reports predict Curtis will ultimately commit to Clark Lea and the Commodores.
Curtis moved his signing ceremony up to Dec. 3 after it was originally scheduled for Dec. 5. It’s not clear whether he will clarify where his recruitment stands before then.
A source close to the situation told The Tennessean that while Curtis and Vanderbilt have spoken, the narrative that he will flip from Georgia is inaccurate. The Vanderbilt staff has never spoken with Curtis’ parents, according to the source.
What will happen with Ole Miss’ recruits on early signing day?
Oakland four-star defensive back Craig Tutt is one of the 2026 recruits stuck in limbo after former Kiffin was hired by LSU.
Four-star receiver Corey Barber and three-star safety Trae Collins have already decommitted from Ole Miss.
Tutt and others have a decision to make. They can lock themselves in at Ole Miss and roll the dice on a new coach; they can decommit and look elsewhere; or they can stick with Ole Miss, wait to see who gets hired and sign when the regular period begins Feb. 4.
The decision is a little more complicated for recruits who planned to enroll early.
How will early signing day be affected by the coaching carousel?
Kiffin’s decision was the biggest domino in a wild year of coaching changes, but it was only the start.
Kentucky has fired Mark Stoops. Freshly hired Power 4 coaches at Auburn (Alex Golesh), Florida (Jon Sumrall), Arkansas (Ryan Silverfield) and Oklahoma State (Eric Morris) will begin trying to salvage their new programs’ 2026 classes.
Those coaches will be trying to flip recruits while keeping their own classes intact.
Tyler Palmateer covers high school sports for The Tennessean. Have a story idea for Tyler? Reach him at tpalmateer@tennessean.com and on the X platform, @tpalmateer83.
He also contributes to The Tennessean’s high school sports newsletter, The Bootleg. Subscribe to The Bootleg here.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: College football early signing day storylines include Jared Curtis
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