Really interesting comments here that would surprise many of us. Also a UCF mention in regards to spending on visits.
• I left some money on the table, about $50,000. But I signed with my dream school.
• The dollar figures were similar so NIL wasn’t a priority for me. I’m worried about the big bucks later. My relationship with the coaches, watching them practice and seeing it was really was the biggest factor.
• I had another school offer me the same NIL deal in total, but with a signing bonus. The signing bonus would’ve been basically a really nice car. The NIL deal is like an NFL rookie contract. I had an agent handle it all for me. As soon as NIL came out, my dad was like, “You need an agent.” When schools call, they have the position coach, head coach and the money man from the collective call you. That last guy is the one who talks about NIL with the agent.
• I signed with the team that gave me the best chance to make the NFL, not the most NIL money.
• I didn’t sign with the school who offered me the biggest NIL deal I could’ve gotten, but coming from where I come from, any money I receive from a college is life-changing money.
• I signed completely off the bond I built with coaches. I didn’t start talking about NIL until recently. I’ll be making about $80,000 to $100,000 per year. A couple other schools had similar offers.
• No, I didn’t. I signed with (my school) and they gave me like $90,000. I feel like it’s not really about the money for me and I like (my school). … I want to say (my best offer was about) $200,000. They came in the process late and (my school) was there since my freshman year so it was easy.
• I didn’t sign with the school who offered the biggest deal. In total, it was probably about $300,000 in difference for the three years. Why did I go to the school offering less money? Because in the long run I could go somewhere where I can stay focused — not be distracted — and get on the field right away.
• I signed with the school who offered me the best NIL deal. Other schools threw a lot of big numbers out, but the school I signed with I trusted I’d get the money because I saw other guys got it.
• I left some money on the table. I didn’t bring up NIL until my official visits. One team told me if I committed early and helped bring other guys in, they’d give me $40,000 a month up until I signed. But I didn’t sign with them.
• To be honest, I didn’t. I don’t really look at all that stuff right now. I (chose) the school that, I wouldn’t say showed the best love, but it was a school where I just really liked being around the people and I felt like I could make an impact there. … I’ll get (NIL) later on. I think I’m looking to invest in myself now and then get a bigger bag later on.
• I’m not sure. I didn’t really ask about NIL, money-wise. That wasn’t really on my mind. I knew it was gonna come, but I just wasn’t really concerned about it.
I dropped a top 10 when I was really only looking at four or five schools. I did it for the followers. I got like 231,000 views for it and picked up followers.
Who were the nicest coaches you met during the process — from schools you didn’t sign with?
• Sonny Dykes at TCU and Jim Harbaugh at Michigan. Dykes is a family-oriented coach. I have the utmost respect for coaches from Texas.
• I really liked (Georgia) coach (Kirby) Smart, (ex-defensive backs coach) Fran (Brown). (Miami defensive coordinator Lance) Guidry and (executive director Dennis Smith). Just good people. They talk to you about more than football.
• (Florida’s Billy) Napier is a really good dude. So is (Mike) Norvell at Florida State. Coach (Kirby) Smart is a business guy.
• (SMU’s) Rhett Lashlee. He was the most genuine head coach. You can tell it was the real him. Some coaches like to put a face on during the game and another off the field. He was him on and off the field. That’s actually how he acts and moves.
• (Miami’s) Mario Cristobal and (Penn State’s) James Franklin. It doesn’t have to be just about football with them.
I would say coach KB. (Keith Bhonapha). He was at Oregon State and now he’s at Michigan State. He went with the head coach. I think for him, it’s bigger than football. Obviously we’d talk a lot of ball, but he checked in during the holidays just on a day-to-day basis, so I thought that was cool.
• (Ohio State’s) Ryan Day. You feel like you can talk to him about anything.
• (Alabama’s) Nick Saban. He was different than I expected.
• I would have to say coach Matt Moore, the O-line coach from West Virginia. Just the coolest guy, man. He gave grandfather, uncle vibes all the time. He’s a down South guy, so he always had the hospitality. He’s a good person.
• I want to say between (Tennessee’s) coach Heup (Josh Heupel) and (Oregon’s) Dan Lanning. Coach Heup, down to earth guy. … He’s really nice. Off the field, he’s a nice guy. Good person and he actually cares about his players. He knows his players. His players can come to him, and I see that with my own eyes. And then Dan Lanning, not a lot of people know this, I’m not sure, but his wife had cancer. … I feel like just to open up about that — because he knew me for probably about four or five, six, seven months (and) he’s known his wife probably for forever — I don’t know how to say it, but he’s a soft heart.
https://theathletic.com/5175508/202...-nil-rule-changes/?source=user_shared_articleRecruiting confidential: High school football stars dish on NIL deals, arrogant coaches and more
• I left some money on the table, about $50,000. But I signed with my dream school.
• The dollar figures were similar so NIL wasn’t a priority for me. I’m worried about the big bucks later. My relationship with the coaches, watching them practice and seeing it was really was the biggest factor.
• I had another school offer me the same NIL deal in total, but with a signing bonus. The signing bonus would’ve been basically a really nice car. The NIL deal is like an NFL rookie contract. I had an agent handle it all for me. As soon as NIL came out, my dad was like, “You need an agent.” When schools call, they have the position coach, head coach and the money man from the collective call you. That last guy is the one who talks about NIL with the agent.
• I signed with the team that gave me the best chance to make the NFL, not the most NIL money.
• I didn’t sign with the school who offered me the biggest NIL deal I could’ve gotten, but coming from where I come from, any money I receive from a college is life-changing money.
• I signed completely off the bond I built with coaches. I didn’t start talking about NIL until recently. I’ll be making about $80,000 to $100,000 per year. A couple other schools had similar offers.
• No, I didn’t. I signed with (my school) and they gave me like $90,000. I feel like it’s not really about the money for me and I like (my school). … I want to say (my best offer was about) $200,000. They came in the process late and (my school) was there since my freshman year so it was easy.
• I didn’t sign with the school who offered the biggest deal. In total, it was probably about $300,000 in difference for the three years. Why did I go to the school offering less money? Because in the long run I could go somewhere where I can stay focused — not be distracted — and get on the field right away.
• I signed with the school who offered me the best NIL deal. Other schools threw a lot of big numbers out, but the school I signed with I trusted I’d get the money because I saw other guys got it.
• I left some money on the table. I didn’t bring up NIL until my official visits. One team told me if I committed early and helped bring other guys in, they’d give me $40,000 a month up until I signed. But I didn’t sign with them.
• To be honest, I didn’t. I don’t really look at all that stuff right now. I (chose) the school that, I wouldn’t say showed the best love, but it was a school where I just really liked being around the people and I felt like I could make an impact there. … I’ll get (NIL) later on. I think I’m looking to invest in myself now and then get a bigger bag later on.
• I’m not sure. I didn’t really ask about NIL, money-wise. That wasn’t really on my mind. I knew it was gonna come, but I just wasn’t really concerned about it.
I dropped a top 10 when I was really only looking at four or five schools. I did it for the followers. I got like 231,000 views for it and picked up followers.
Who were the nicest coaches you met during the process — from schools you didn’t sign with?
• Sonny Dykes at TCU and Jim Harbaugh at Michigan. Dykes is a family-oriented coach. I have the utmost respect for coaches from Texas.
• I really liked (Georgia) coach (Kirby) Smart, (ex-defensive backs coach) Fran (Brown). (Miami defensive coordinator Lance) Guidry and (executive director Dennis Smith). Just good people. They talk to you about more than football.
• (Florida’s Billy) Napier is a really good dude. So is (Mike) Norvell at Florida State. Coach (Kirby) Smart is a business guy.
• (SMU’s) Rhett Lashlee. He was the most genuine head coach. You can tell it was the real him. Some coaches like to put a face on during the game and another off the field. He was him on and off the field. That’s actually how he acts and moves.
• (Miami’s) Mario Cristobal and (Penn State’s) James Franklin. It doesn’t have to be just about football with them.
I would say coach KB. (Keith Bhonapha). He was at Oregon State and now he’s at Michigan State. He went with the head coach. I think for him, it’s bigger than football. Obviously we’d talk a lot of ball, but he checked in during the holidays just on a day-to-day basis, so I thought that was cool.
• (Ohio State’s) Ryan Day. You feel like you can talk to him about anything.
• (Alabama’s) Nick Saban. He was different than I expected.
• I would have to say coach Matt Moore, the O-line coach from West Virginia. Just the coolest guy, man. He gave grandfather, uncle vibes all the time. He’s a down South guy, so he always had the hospitality. He’s a good person.
• I want to say between (Tennessee’s) coach Heup (Josh Heupel) and (Oregon’s) Dan Lanning. Coach Heup, down to earth guy. … He’s really nice. Off the field, he’s a nice guy. Good person and he actually cares about his players. He knows his players. His players can come to him, and I see that with my own eyes. And then Dan Lanning, not a lot of people know this, I’m not sure, but his wife had cancer. … I feel like just to open up about that — because he knew me for probably about four or five, six, seven months (and) he’s known his wife probably for forever — I don’t know how to say it, but he’s a soft heart.
https://theathletic.com/5175508/202...-nil-rule-changes/?source=user_shared_articleRecruiting confidential: High school football stars dish on NIL deals, arrogant coaches and more
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