The first Wednesday in February used to be a special day in the life of a college football program.

For most of the Southland Conference it still will be this year.

It is the day when the future of programs lay their foundation, when young men decide where they will attend college.

In the past this day was make or break for coaching staffs at McNeese State and throughout the country.

A lot of that has changed since the transfer portal came into play in October 2018. Now signing recruits has become a trickle instead of a flood.

Any day can be signing day as players try to find new homes and the right fits even after they have started their eligibility clocks.

No place anywhere will be as quiet next Wednesday as McNeese.

While most coaches will be running around putting the final pieces of their recruiting puzzles together for the big show, Gary Goff and his Cowboys staff can relax this weekend, their work basically done.

Goff’s crew did their heavy lifting before Christmas, when they landed a bounty of talent to restock the Cowboys’ coffers.

McNeese signed 24 new Cowboys last December, a haul for a program that has been down for the past few seasons. The group included 10 high schoolers, 10 from junior college and four from the transfer portal, including a pair of quarterbacks.

That filled a lot of holes for McNeese, which was coming off a 4-7 campaign last fall, Goff’s first at the helm.

That left McNeese with two scholarships. One was recently filled before the spring semester began when C.J. Rias, a linebacker from South Alabama, transferred. That gave the Cowboys 16 newcomers working out on campus.

It also meant Goff was down to one scholarship. That is really all the suspense that is left.

Goff said last week he would like to sign one more receiver if possible. Seems likely considering the work that has already been done.

If you follow social media, Niko Johnson from Dallas Carter High seems like a true option. The 6-foot-5 receiver/ safety announced Monday he was 100 percent committed to McNeese. Barring a last-minute minute flip, that seems to fill up the roster nicely.

No matter what, there will not be a lot of drama surrounding McNeese football next week. The new class is all but fully set.

Goff will hold a news conference to talk up those already signed. He will have to make the rounds to all the boosters but the rest of his time should be pretty stress free.

“We wanted to make sure we got the right people who want to be here,” Goff said in December.

Not enough credit though is being made about who he kept on campus. The Cowboys only lost one player of any huge impact, that was receiver Mason Pierce, who had a down season last fall.

During a time when the transfer portal is the hip thing for players, a first-year