The "traditional" National Signing Day will take place Wednesday with several high-profile prospectslike five-star defensive backs Patrick Surtain, Jr., Tyson Campbell and Olaijah Griffin, and five-star offensive lineman Nicholas Petit-Frere among some of the top-tier players making their college choices public.

But the traditional day of fax machine fame has been transformed into a diet version of National Signing Day, with the more popular edition occurring Dec. 20-22 of last year -- the first year of the Early Signing Period. There are 29 five-star players in the 247Sports Composite, and 23 of them have already signed on the dotted line.

At the time, many of the game's most prestigious coaches spoke out against the Early Signing Period, saying that the combination of filling out recruiting classes, coaches being hired and fired, and preparation for bowl games made the month of December too hectic for their liking.

"I don't see how it benefits anybody. I think it's really stressful for everyone," Alabama coach Nick Saban said in mid-December, according to AL.com. "We're all trying to get ready for bowl games and playoff games and we have a signing day right in the middle of when we're going to be practicing for a playoff game. It was very stressful for a lot of coaches to get out and see as many guys as they could in December and accelerate everything. You don't have very much time to do that. If you're playing in a championship game, you have even less time to do it."

"You just start thinking about the time warp that took place finishing the season that we had to finish the way we did, playing a rival and then a Big Ten Championship Game and by the way, signing day is two weeks away now," said Ohio State coach Urban Meyer. "I can't remember a December like that ever."

But during his Early Signing Period press conference, Meyer hinted at what likely will be the common sentiment among big-time head coaches at stable programs (after the Buckeyes inked 21 players). 

"Do I think it's all negative? I was really dead set against it. I'm looking at this right here," Meyer said holding the list, according to Cleveland.com. "Dead set against what? That's unbelievable."

Look at the team rankings shortly before National Signing Day. 

The top team in the rankings that made a coaching change this offseason is Oregon at No. 14, and numbers will be slim for traditional recruiting powers. Florida State and first-year coach Willie Taggart only has seven players who are signed and/or already enrolled, first-year Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher has 10, first-year Florida coach Dan Mullen has 13 and first-year Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt has 14.

Meanwhile, stable programs like the Buckeyes, Georgia (20) and Penn State (22) already have the majority of their class in house. 

That creates a divide between the haves and have-nots, due in large part to the inability of programs making coaching changes to stabilize themselves in the midst of the Early Signing Period.

Programs in transitions are left focusing primarily on holding on to unsigned commitments for dear life in January, while the stable juggernauts pick and choose their spots to fill the few remaining spots in the class. All the while, the coaches of those recent title contenders can focus ahead on future classes now, as opposed to later in the spring.

In previous years, when the finish line was further away from the coaching carousel, programs could catch back up after their heads stopped spinning. Now, it's one giant whirlwind that doesn't stop until long after traditional (diet) National Signing Day this Wednesday.

That divide likely won't last forever. Pruitt could get things cooking on Rocky Top, Mullen is incredibly familiar with his new digs in Gainesville after serving as Meyer's offensive coordinator with the Gators, and Fisher is a recruiting machine who likely will find a way to put Texas A&M back in the top 10 consistently in the recruiting rankings in short order.

But make no mistake, Meyer, Saban, Georgia's Kirby Smart and many of the other coaches of stable programs don't mind at all that those coaches and programs are scrambling a bit in January. 

They might have been vocal about the Early Signing Period in December, but a relaxed January will likely make them the format's biggest cheerleaders when the discussion on whether to keep it, adjust it or abolish it kicks back up this offseason.

So what big-time recruits are headed to your favorite school? Visit 247Sports.com to see how your team's future will be changed forever. Their recruiting analysts are on the ground right now for National Signing Day. Plus, use the code SIGN2018 to get 30 days completely free on any plan they offer!