| 01 February 2012
Could it be that the new version of oversign turns out to be not signing. SEC has promulgated new
rules that count all signees between December 1 and May 31 toward the new 25 scholarship limit regardless of whether they actually qualify and enroll.
How long will it be before a notoriously enterprising coach in a contiguous state to our West determines that in order to take chances on kids that may not qualify he has to convince other kids to enroll without ever signing a letter of intent?
“If a player signs, he counts without regard to whether or not he actually enrolls,” SEC spokesman Charles Bloom said in an e-mail on Monday. " ‘Back counting’ is only permitted for mid year enrollees who are able to be included as an initial counter for the academic year in which they enroll. ‘Back counting’ is an artificial term for this discussion and not accurate as the question is about the signing limit.”
So essentially under the old rules, what mattered most was who actuallyenrolled. But the SEC’s new rules are directed at who signed.
For example, Marshall can count for last year because he enrolled in January, and technically counts in that time period. But he can only count in that time period if Georgia has room from last year’s class. (Which it does.)
Kent Turene and Chris Mayes, who signed last year but did not enroll? They still count towards the 25 limit. That was a loophole that, according to this clarification, has been closed. To me, that's key to making the new over-signing rules effective.
But could some schools still find loopholes? Enterprising coaches always seem to if they look hard enough. Keep an eye on whether any recruits never sign but magically start enrolling on June 1.
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