Bill Connelly dropped his 2026 conference prevews today and I already know he's got USC buried somewhere in the Big Ten pecking order again. That's fine. Let him sleep on what's happening in fall camp right now because the early signing period story nobody is talking about is how this staff is using the winter-only portal rule to their advantage in a way the national guys haven't caught onto yet.
Here is the thing about the early signing period that matters more than any five-star bump in the 247 composite. The old system had kids flipping in December, signing in February, and then the spring portal window created chaos where half your class could transfer out before they ever played a snap. Now that the spring window is gone, the early signing period becomes the only real leverage point for programs to lock in their roster. Every silent commit we have right now is going to put pen to paper in December and that commitment actually means something because there is no portal escape hatch until winter of next year.
I have been watching how this staff is managing the board and the crystal ball projections tell me we are sitting on at least two guys who are going to be underrated on the 247 composite but are absolute ballers on tape. The ESPN scouting reports do not always catch what the position coaches see in camp. We have a couple of 3-star guys who are going to bump up when the rankings update because they dominated the camp circuit this summer. The staff is playing the long game with the 2026 class and the early signing period is going to be the moment everyone realizes we are not rebuilding, we are reloading.
The portal will always be a factor but the early signing period is where you build the foundation. And with the NIL revenue sharing cap coming, locking in your high school croots before the bidding wars start matters more than ever. This staff understands the calendar better than most. December is going to be loud.