The Georgia Bulldogs are eligible next week to start handing out scholarships to high school football players. But according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Georgia already has three players who have made oral commitments to enrol at Athens for the Class of 2009.

This is nothing new, or necessarily problematic from an NCAA perspective. Notre Dame wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator Rob Ianello told the USA Today that over 1,500 players had made such commitments before the bowl season, or about 13.2 players per Division I program.

Assistant coaches like Ianello want to formalize these commitments and create an early signing period, with mid-December the preferred time. This is also the time junior college players are allowed to sign. The Conference Commissioners Association has heard this proposal before, though, and their decision on the matter requires the input from a number of concerned parties. Ianello expects a year or two to pass before anything happens.