A 72-hour early signing period for college football recruits to begin Dec. 20 has been approved by the Collegiate Commissioners Association, according to a news release.

The Collegiate Commissioners Association runs the National Letter of Intent program and its approval was required to enact the early signing period. The NCAA Division I Council approved the plan in April.

Of note is that players in the Class of 2018 are not permitted to take official visits until the start of their senior years. New legislation adopted recently will allow official visits for players starting in April of their junior year, but that does not begin until the Class of 2019.

The Dec. 20-22 dates coincide with the first three days for junior college players to sign letters of intent to transfer to four-year colleges. That period runs from Dec. 20 to Jan. 15.

The early period requires some changes to the national letter of intent that will reviewed at a June meeting of the Collegiate Commissioners Association.

Division II schools are still considering whether to opt in or out of the early signing period, with a decision expected in June.

DePaul’s decision to hire La Lumiere (La Porte, Ind.) basketball coach Shane Heirman as an assistant coach on May 1 is already paying dividends.

Tyger Campbell, a La Lumiere junior who is ranked as the No. 4 point guard in the Class of 2019, has committed to DePaul and reclassified to the Class of 2018.

He officially announced his commitment Monday night on Twitter, although he had told Scout.com of his decision on Friday. He becomes DePaul’s first five-star commitment under Dave Leitao.

The 5-11 Campbell spent two years at La Lumiere under Heirman and was a key part of the Lakers winning DICK’S Nationals and the Super 25 title.

“Some people go to college just because they like somebody, but he helps me off of the court, as much as he does on it,” Campbell told Scout. “I can talk to him about anything. He’s always there. He wants to do the best for me. I know he really has my back. After we won a national championship I gave him a hug and I knew it was a real.”

A month after Florida State landed two prospects in the Class of 2019 from Grayson High (Loganville, Ga.), another has committed to the Seminoles.

Ronald Thompkins, ranked among the top 20 athletes in the class by Top247 Sports, announced his commitment Tuesday.

He follows Grayson safety Kenyatta Watson and offensive tackle Wanya Morris. Both committed during visits for FSU’s spring game in April.

Thompkins is likely to play running back in college, despite being listed as an athlete in the recruiting rankings.

“The basically like the way I run,” Thompkins told Gannett partner Tallahassee.com after his campus visit in February.  “Not too many cuts. I put my foot in the ground and get vertical. The ability to catch too. Kind of a little bit like Dalvin Cook.”

Thompkins had nine reported offers, including SEC schools Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, Kentucky and LSU.

Another meet, more records for the Union Catholic (N.J.) girls track team.

The team shattered five meet records at the Union County Relays and dominated with a 125-58 victory against Westfield.

The most impressive of those performances might have been a state record of 1:37.53 in the 4×200. That betters the record of 1:37.77 set by Franklin in 2003.

According to MileSplit, Olympian and American Family Insurance ALL-USA Girls Track Athlete of the Year Sydney McLaughlin started with a 23.2, with Khamil Evans at 24.3, Amaya Chadwick at 24.7 and Sydney Tucker at 25.2.

As states with spring football begin to wind down and the end of school is approaching, the start of football training camps are not that far away.

Replacing elite players who move on to college is among the great challenges of high school football, especially at a premium position such as quarterback.

RELATED: Dorian Thompson-Robinson ready to carry on Bishop Gorman legacy

Here is a look at 11 quarterback situations around the nation that we will be watching:

McDonald’s All American Brian Bowen acknowledged last weekend at the BallIsLife All-American Game that he was hearing from a few new schools as the May 17 end of the signing period approaches.

In an interview with Rivals.com, he mentioned that he has talked to North Carolina State a few weeks ago and had heard from Oregon State and Florida State, too.

Bowen, one of the nation’s top uncommitted recruits in the Class of 2017, took an unofficial visit to Oregon with his mother on Monday, according to DuckTerritory. The site said the Oregon staff made contact with Bowen at the Jordan Brand Classic in mid-April and has been persistent since.

Bowen has taken official visits to Arizona, Creighton, Michigan State, N.C. State and Texas, but also recently took an unofficial to DePaul. DePaul hired his high school coach at La Lumiere (La Porte, Ind.) as an assistant coach on May 1.

“Where I feel is the best fit for me and my family is where I’ll go,” Bowen told Rivals. “Whenever I make that decision I’ll be 100 percent.”

Bowen also said he continues to “weigh my options. It’s all about me picking a school. Every school has given me its best pitch. It’s a matter of me making a decision.”

But by taking an unofficial visit, Bowen indicated that there are at least another pitch or two to evaluate before he makes up his mind.

As for a decision, he said, “It’s going to have to be soon. That deadline is coming up.”

Carter Wilkerson is best known as the Nevada teen who asked Wendy’s how he might be able to get free chicken nuggets for a year.

Wendy’s response: 18 million retweets.

Carter’s response to Wendy’s: Consider it done.

Well, Wilkerson didn’t quite get there, but his tweet became the most retweeted tweet of all time with more than 3.4 million retweets. Wendy’s announced that it had provided Wilkerson with his prize.

Wilkeron’s initial tweet came on April 5 and he earned his prize Tuesday, May 9.

Those dates cover the track season for his school, Bishop Manogue in Reno, Nev., where Wilkerson is a hurdler.

Wilkerson placed fifth last weekend in the 110-meter hurdles at the High Desert and Sierra league championships in a time of 18.16. His personal best of 17.60 came during a league tri-meet at Douglas in which he finished second. Manogue won the meet. His time of 17.60 is sixth in school history.

Wilkerson finished eighth last weekend in the 300-meter hurdles, but his time of 45.98 was a personal best and 12th in school history for the 36-inch hurdles at the distance. He holds the school record for the 300 meters with 33-inch hurdles, 46.72, set when he was a sophomore.

This season, he also ran in the 4×200 relay and the 4×400 relay at a few early meets. As a junior last spring, he also tried his hand at the shot put and discus.

He might need to keep running, though, to stay trim with all those nuggets.

Four-star defensive tackle Dante Stills earned an invitation to The Opening Finals with his performance at the regional Sunday in Charlotte.

Stills is the top-ranked recruit in the Class of 2018 from the state of West Virginia and is the first player from the state to reach The Opening Finals in several years.

“I’m just trying to represent my town and state the best I can,” said Stills, who attends Fairmont High. “By doing this, a lot of kids have looked up to me and it’s an honor to receive an invitation to compete with the best high school athletes.”

Stills, who is 6-4 and 265 pounds, was named the defensive line MVP in Charlotte. He already has 20 reported offers with West Virginia, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Florida among his most ardent pursuers.

Stills has quickness off the ball and can get to the quarterback.

As for his goals when he competes in Oregon beginning June 30 at the Finals, “get better and do my thing in Oregon,” he said. “I’m getting stronger and getting faster off the ball and using my hands more.”

Fairmont is coming off a 10-3 season in which it rebounded from consecutive losses at midseason to reach the state Class AA final. That included a 22-21 double-overtime victory in the semifinals against three-time state champion Bridgeport that snapped Bridgeport’s 38-game unbeaten streak.

The season ended, though, with a 32-7 loss to Mingo Central (Matewan) in the final.

“My expectations (for next season) are to win a state championship,” he said. “After losing last year in the championship, I’m even more hungry for a title.”

That could be bad news for quarterbacks in West Virginia.

Lauren Chasczewski of Grapevine (Texas) has had a busy few weeks, and there is more to come.

Chasczewski, a junior, has qualified for the 5A state track and field meet in the high jump and the 5A state golf meet. She will leave for the track meet in Austin on Thursday night, jump Friday morning and then leave for golf on Saturday in Bastrop. Golf begins Monday.

RELATED: Surprises behind data on single sport and multisport athletes

She made states in track by clearing 5-4. She made states in golf at the Region 1 tournament by finishing third and hit a hole-in-one on the sixth hole in the first round. She also competed in the state golf tournament last spring.

“Oh, God – I don’t really have a word for it. It’s just so weird — just even like the hole-in-one, and I’m going to state in two sports, it’s just weird to me,” Chasczewski told the Star-Telegram.

As for the odd combination of sports, Chasczewski said: “High jump? I don’t really know; it was just random — like, I did track all middle school, and I was good. But golf, my dad’s done it all his life, so that was like, ‘Oh, you come out to the greens, here’s your golf club.’”

Among the challenges of the pitch count limits in high school baseball — especially in states without ideal weather — usually boil down to this: Too many games in too few days with too few arms.

To potentially help alleviate that issue, the governing body in Ohio is considering extending the season by two weeks beginning in 2019, according to WPCO.com. A vote could come June 1.

If approved, the season would begin March 23 and end with the state tournament June 13-15. Extending the season would allow for more regular season games with the postseason starting later.

Each state could adapt its own interpretation of the National Federation of State High School Association rule on pitch count. Ohio has a limit of 125 pitches per outing and a mandatory rest day when a pitcher throws at least 30 pitches.

RELATED: Pitch counts vary but mission to protect arms is same

Schools with smaller rosters have fewer options for pitchers. Fewer games also might allow teams to practice during the regular season and potentially develop more pitchers.

According to WPCO, one provision of Ohio’s proposal is that it would impact baseball and softball because officials say many baseball and softball teams play games at the same site and travel together. It also would require district and regional sites to be available for games.

If Ohio adopts the extended schedule, will other states follow? Is this a good solution to help protect pitcher’s arms and still allow for competitive games and complete seasons?

Teradja Mitchell, a five-star inside linebacker, likes to do things big.

When he announced his top 11 schools in February, he did it with a birthday cake with all the logos. That tweet has been pinned to the top of his Twitter timeline since.

So it’s no surprise that he has big goals ahead after earning a spot at The Opening Finals with his performance at the regional event in Charlotte on Sunday.

For the Finals in late June and early July at Nike headquarters in Oregon, Mitchell has this on his plate: “My goals are to be able compete against the best and come out as one of the top players there and to also win the 7v7 tourney.”

And then for his senior season at Bishop Sullivan Catholic (Virginia Beach, Va.) for his team, “My goals are to help my team to become a national powerhouse and to get a ranking in the top 25 and show that my state can compete with the best.” Bishop Sullivan opens against American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.) on Aug. 25.

For himself, he has big plans, too. “Individually, my goals are to win the high school Butkus award and be recognized as the top linebacker in the country,” he said.

By the time he gets to Oregon, he is expected to have made a college commitment. He has narrowed the field to likely either Florida State or Ohio State with a Florida State visit upcoming. He told SECCountry that he expects to make a decision in late May or early June.

He also might look a little different as he looks to lose weight. He has been listed at as much as 247 pounds, but has slimmed down to the low 230s.

“This spring, I have been working on getting faster and dropping weight, which is going very well right now,” he said.

Mitchell finished in the top 30 among all players in Charlotte on the Nike+ rating.

“I’m honored to be able to receive the invite (to the Finals),” he said. “I’ve been dreaming to get there every since freshman year.”

Avery Bradley scored a playoff career-high 29 points as the Boston Celtics beat the Washington Wizards 123-101 on Wednesday night to take a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Bradley is averaging 15.4 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists thus far in the playoffs.

Long before Bradley helped the Celtics, he was a star at Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.). Bradley was named to the American Family Insurance ALL-USA First Team in 2009.

At the time, he was ranked as the No. 1 shooting guard in the class and the No. 4 player overall by the 247Sports Composite rankings. In his senior year, Bradley was named to the McDonald’s All America Game and the Jordan Brand Classic and was part of the Pilots’ team that won the National High School Invitational (now known as the DICK’S Nationals).

Avery Bradley of Findlay Prep in 2009 (Photo: Steve Marcus, USA TODAY Sports)

After one season at Texas, he was selected No. 19 overall by the Celtics.

In a story by Boston WEEI’s Jessica Camerato that is excerpted on the Findlay Prep website, Bradley set this about choosing Findlay Prep.

“Findlay was the best way,” he said. ” It helped me mature as a person.  Sometimes I think about it (if I didn’t go to Findlay Prep) and I went to a real prestigious school in Washington, I probably still would have got a scholarship somewhere, but my basketball skills probably wouldn’t be where they got.  I probably wouldn’t have become the No. 1 player, I probably wouldn’t have been a McDonalds All-American, a lot of things.  I don’t know where I would’ve been.  Findlay was the best move for me.”

An Indiana softball pitcher had the most perfect of perfect games — 18 up and 18 down, all by strikeout.

Macy Montgomery from Bellmont (Decatur, Ind.) accomplished the feat in a 10-0 victory against DeKalb that was shortened to six innings by the mercy rule.

“During the game I did have that thought in the back of my mind, but I wasn’t too concerned about it because I knew if they did hit the ball my defense would make the plays like they always do,” Montgomery said about potentially striking out every batter.

“A few of my pitches were working really well last night. My changeup and rise ball were my go-to pitches, and (catcher) Tori (Miller) did a great job realizing what was working and calling pitches, as she always does.”

Montgomery, a freshman, moved to 9-1 on the season with 128 strikeouts, three walks and an ERA of 0.23.

Montgomery also drove in two runs and scored twice in the win for Bellmont (13-1).

But she deflected the attention to her teammates.

“Without our offense and scoring 10 runs like we did, winning that game wouldn’t have been possible,” she said. “They deserve just as much credit as I do for that win.”

Norco (Calif.) kept rolling as the top team in the USA TODAY Sports/National Fastpitch Coaches Association Super 25.

The Cougars (29-0) have scored 161 more runs than they allowed — a 201-40 margin — and winning 40 of its 41 games. Among the challenges on the schedule this week is a rematch with Roosevelt, which lost 1-0 to Norco on April 25.

RELATED: Full Super 25 softball rankings

During the rankings week, Norco pitcher Taylor Dockins broke the Southern Section record for career wins at 104, formerly owned by ex-Mission Viejo star Taylor McQuillin, with a 5-1 victory against Centennial.

The top 10 teams in the rankings remained the same for the third consecutive week.

No. 11 South Granville (20-0) from North Carolina and No. 12 Westminster Christian (45-2-1) from Alabama both won twice to leapfrog new No. 13 Oak Park-River Forest (22-1), an Illinois team that suffered its first loss of the season and dropped two positions.

Elsewhere, Donovan Catholic (20-0) from New Jersey had a 4-0 week to surge four spots to No. 14, while No. 15 Hendrickson (27-1) from Texas and No. 16 Oakleaf (28-2) from Florida gained one spot apiece.

Unbeaten Maryland school Leonardtown (19-0) — which has only allowed six runs all season — joined the rankings this week at No. 21 as the lone newcomer.

State rankings submitted by NFCA member coaches are used to compile the Super 25.

Three boys lacrosse teams ranked in the Super 25, including two in the Top 5, are among the eight teams selected for the inaugural GEICO High School Lacrosse Nationals, organizers announced Thursday.

The single-elimination tournament will be played from May 28 to 30 at Cardinal Stadium on the campus of Catholic University in Washington, D.C. All seven games will be televised by ESPN networks.

The three ranked teams — No. 2 IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.), No. 4 The Hill Academy (Concord, Ontario) and No. 18 The Woodlands (Texas) — along with St. Sebastian’s (Needhman, Mass.) will face the four unranked teams in the quarterfinals with games at 1, 3, 5 and 7 p.m. ET on ESPN3. St. Sebastian’s, which has been ranked as high as No. 8, fell from the rankings this week.

The semifinals are May 29 at 7 and 9 p.m. on ESPNU with the title game on May 30 at 7 p.m. on ESPNU.

“With the popularity of lacrosse growing nationwide, we are excited to introduce this prestigious post-season event in the tradition of the DICK’S Nationals (basketball) and the GEICO Bowl Series (football),” said Rashid Ghazi, partner at Paragon Marketing Group. “The beauty of this tournament is that it provides players, coaches and fans the opportunity to end their season against top-ranked teams from across the country on a nationally televised stage.”

“The GEICO High School Lacrosse Nationals, created by Paragon Marketing Group, gives ESPNU another opportunity to continue showcasing the next generation of athletes and further enhancing our overall commitment to the sport of lacrosse,” said Dan Margulis, senior director of college sports programming for ESPN. “With this event and the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Lacrosse Championships, fans will get the chance to watch the sport at the high school and college level during Memorial Day weekend.”

Quarterfinals (with seeds; all times Eastern)

• No. 1 IMG Academy vs. No. 8 Christ School (Arden, N.C.), 1 p.m., ESPN3
• No. 4 The Woodlands vs No. 5. Georgetown Prep (North Bethesda, Md.), 3 p.m., ESPN3
• No. 3 St. Sebastian’s vs. No. 6 St. Anne’s-Belfield (Charlottesville, Va.), 5 p.m., ESPN3
• No. 2 Hill Academy vs. No. 7 Lawrenceville (N.J.), 7 p.m., ESPN3

Semifinals

• Winners of 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. games, 7 p.m., ESPNU
• Winners of 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. games, 9 p.m., ESPNU

Final

• Semifinal winners, 7 p.m., ESPNU

Canyon (Texas) has set a national softball record for home runs in a season, and the playoffs are still ongoing.

Canyon’s Candian Callahan hit a grand slam to left-center field in the second inning last Saturday in a 10-0 victory against Parkland (El Paso) in a Class 5A area round game to set the mark.

The record needs approval by the state association to be recognized in the National Federation record book.

“I saw the pitch coming on the outside and just reached out and swung as hard as I could,” Callahan told the Amarillo Globe-News. “I’m going to give everything to my team. I hit the home run but we all got us to the national record.”

“What better way to do it than with a grand slam,” coach Nicole Coffee said.

Canyon is back in action Saturday against Coronado (Lubbock) in the regional semifinals.

Hoover (Ala.) had a ceremony this week to celebrate its first football player to be selected in the NFL Draft.

Marlon Humphrey, who starred in football and track at Hoover before his career at Alabama, was chosen with the No. 16 pick by the Baltimore Ravens. He recently signed a four-year, $11.9 million deal.

The celebration, which also had fireworks at the Hoover stadium, included four cakes — as seen in the video below — from middle school, high school, college and NFL with logos from each stop.

Humphrey graduated from Hoover High in 2014 as a three-time all-state selection, and he won seven state track titles as a senior combined in indoor and outdoor track. He was a first-team All-American at Alabama last fall.

“He’s just a special kid,” former Hoover High AD Myra Miles, who now works for TNT Fireworks, told the Hoover Sun. “This [a first-round draft pick from Hoover] is something that has never happened … It’s going to shine a really good light on the city and high school and Board of Education. … I just wanted to do something, and everybody has been terrific as far as making this happen.”

No time like the playoffs …

Bryce Elder, of Decatur (Texas), has posted back-to-back no-hitters in his first two playoffs starts.

He had a five-inning no-hitter last week in a 4A bi-district series against Pinkston (Dallas) and then held Melissa hitless over six innings in the first game of the area round series, according to the Wise County Messenger.

Game 2 in the series is Friday with Game 3 scheduled for Saturday, if necessary.

“My biggest thing is not looking at the scoreboard,” Elder told the Messenger. “Just go pitch by pitch, inning by inning and keep working one batter at a time and at the end you get a no-hitter.”

He had eight strikeouts against Pinkston and struck out nine against Melissa, which had two runners reach base. One came on a walk after he had retired the first 10 batters of the game, including six via strikeout, and the other on an error.

Tyrone Scott, a 6-3 wide receiver at Jenkins (Savannah, Ga.), averaged 12 points and seven rebounds per game on the school’s basketball team this winter.

That followed a fall in which the Class of 2018 prospect averaged more than 27 yards per catch for the football team and has attracted offers from Tulane, Western Kentucky and a number of FCS programs.

His recruiting profile lists him as having a 34-inch vertical leap. He showed his hops and dexterity in this incredible dunk.

“I didn’t expect it (the dunk) to be this noticed,” Scott told USA TODAY High School Sports. “But that was just a day that I did what I love to do and that’s a show of my athleticism”

Jalen Reagor is among the top wide receiver recruits in the Class of 2017 and has signed with TCU. But he also impresses on the track.

Reagor has only “dabbled” in the long jump in the last few years, according to the Dallas Morning News, but now he’s a state champion.

Reagor jumped 24-5 on Friday morning at the UIL state meet to win the title.

He posted the nation’s best jump at 26 feet in the area meet, but then took a small step back with a jump of 22-10 in the region meet.

“I feel like that was a sign,” Reagor told the Morning News. “My coach and I kind of took it for granted that I was just going to go in and jump big, and that humbled me. Now I get to go down there and show what I’ve been working on.”

His weekend is not done on the track. He also will run in the 4×100 relay and the 200.

Among those congratulating him was his father, Montae, who played nine seasons in the NFL.

Here is what TCU fans can look forward to on the football field, as Reagor is a highlight play waiting to happen.