The challenges in December have grown tremendously for college head coaches.
The days of just preparing for a bowl game and adding a few final pieces to a recruiting class seem quaint.
The head coach to-do list has now grown to the following issues:
• NCAA football early signing period is Dec. 21-23.
• Players will starting entering the transfer portal.
• Coaches will need to re-recruit players so they won’t enter the portal.
• A select group of players will ponder early-entry to the NFL Draft.
• NIL scenarios could possibly play out.
• Some might need to go through the process of hiring assistant coaches.
The various issues in roster management has made December explode with activity.
“There are a lot of moving parts right now,” NCSU coach Dave Doeren said. “It used to be a really fun month. You’d be bowl eligible and give the guys a little rest and get ready for finals.
“As coaches, you’d get a change in routine. You’d go to high schools and recruit and go do home visits and get some good meals. Then you would come back and do bowl prep with your guys like it was a celebration that you were going to the bowl.”
Doeren said he they are consistently looking at their own roster to see what is needed or can be improved upon in-season.
“I wouldn’t say it is every day, but close to every day,” said Doeren about dealing with roster management issues during the season. “If I am not, somebody is. The recruiting office is doing that non-stop. They are constantly evaluating competition, guys you think might go in the portal and evaluation your own roster.”
NC State plays at Louisville on Saturday, and then at North Carolina on Nov. 25 to close out the regular season. Then it will be a sprint until the bowl game gets played.
“December has become, I wouldn’t say a month that you don’t like because there are good things about it, but it has become very, very hectic,” Doeren said. “There are no breaks. For me anyway, it’s the busiest month of my year.”
Doeren also pointed out that attrition can be a good thing. No coach wants to see a starter transfer, but for players low on the depth chart, it’s a positive. Doeren just wants players to receive correct information.
“I think there is a misconception publicly when a player goes into the portal is bad,” Doeren said. “He just wants to play more and he’s buried in the depth chart where he is at. I want him to play too. I want him to have a good career and be happy.
“If I tell him he’s still going to be third [string], and he can go be first for someone else, I’ll help him. It’s not always bad.”
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