Wetzel: CFB's 'calendar' problem affects athletes more than millionaire coaches - ESPN

Much has been made about how the «college football calendar» puts coaches in difficult positions — most famously how Lane Kiffin had to leave playoff-bound Ole Miss so he could start recruiting for his new school, LSU.

Indeed, there was no time to waste. The early signing period for high school recruits begins Wednesday. It's why, within hours of landing in Baton Rouge, Kiffin welcomed local five-star athlete Lamar Brown and his family to his office. (Brown said he will sign with the Tigers.)

The actual season isn't done yet, though. Conference championship games are this weekend. The College Football Playoff runs from Dec.19 to Jan. 19. Meanwhile, the sport's lone transfer portal window will be open from Jan. 2 to 15.

It's an unquestioned mess (we'll get to one of the culprits later), akin to the NFL running the Super Bowl, the draft and free agency all at once.

Yet for all the current complaining, the people most affected aren't the millionaire college coaches.

It's the high school recruits and their families.

Due to the early signing period, each coaching change — both the firings and the hirings — means that all members of recruiting classes (often 20 to 25 kids) have to readjust and decide (often in just a few days or even hours) whether to stick with their previous decision or try to flip to a new school.

And that's if the new coach even wants them.

«This whole process is not a process; it's chaotic,» said Justin Cessante, coach of Michigan state champion Detroit Catholic Central High School, which expects to have five FBS signees this year. «And it has hurt the high school athlete the most.»

Information is scarce. Judgments are rushed. All but the most coveted of talents face a time crunch, pressured to sign or be