How will an early signing period affect Maryland? It’s too early to tell.

The Collegiate Commissioners Association approved an early signing period that runs from Dec. 20 to Dec. 22 on Monday.

The NCAA Division I Council approved the early signing period in April, but ultimately, National Letter of Intent program is run by the CCA, and any changes to it would have to be run through them. The new 72-hour period will coincide with the first three days of the junior college midyear NLI signing period, which extends into January.

This means prospective student-athletes who are sure of their decisions can sign and officially end their recruiting process in December, instead of waiting until the first Wednesday in February. If a recruit decides not to sign during the December signing period, he can just wait to sign during the traditional February period, which extends into April.

It’s unclear how this will affect Maryland, or how much of the class will sign in December. But DJ Durkin is ready for whatever it holds.

“To me it's all about okay, here are the rules and go play by them,” Durkin said after Maryland’s spring game in April. “So, yeah, I'm good with it.”

The early signing period will change recruiting as we know it, and though there’s some idea how, nobody really knows for sure. It will certainly excite fanbases though, as now there will be two days potentially filled with drama instead of just one.

In other news

Ray Lewis’ son Rayshad announced Monday evening that he’ll transfer from Utah State to Maryland.

Both Maryland men’s and women’s lacrosse are the No. 1 overall seeds in their respective NCAA Tournaments again.

Former Terps wide receiver Torrey Smith made sure 46 pets would have homes.

The fifth annual Terp Awards ceremony, co-sponsored by the ‘M’ Club and the Terrapin Scholarship Fund, was held on Monday. Melo Trimble was named Male Athlete of the Year.

The full list of Terp Award winners can be found here.