Texas Recruiting Notes 2023: Strippers, Monkeys, and 5-Stars

[MuellerHorn 4228]

3 minutes ago, Burt Macklin said:

*NIL

Youre really going to confuse the olds if you start mixing up those two. 

No, he meant NLI (National Letter of Intent). No reason to sign a binding contract and limit your free-market options when it’s not necessary as a highly sought after five-star recruit. 

[Burt Macklin 19020]

1 minute ago, MuellerHorn said:

No, he meant NLI (National Letter of Intent). No reason to sign a binding contract and limit your free-market options when it’s not necessary as a highly sought after five-star recruit. 

Son of a bitch. I’m the old, confused one. 

[billfromlaketravis 11447]

10 hours ago, pacman said:

[MuellerHorn 4228]

Just now, Burt Macklin said:

Son of a bitch. I’m the old, confused one. 

[closetojumping 62552]

43 minutes ago, JesusSweatDuck said:

Did getting all the different initiatives aligned via the Texas One Fund and thus getting Texas Exes/LHF associated help break down any of the concerns of the big $?

It helps. Frankly, the Texas Exes are fucking worthless. I mean they have not done a fucking thing and don't seem to actually exist for any real purpose other than happy hour. I'd love for someone to explain what it is that they are supposed to do. The biggest thing is having the LHF and the AD aligned with the NIL efforts. That alignment is real and helping break things down.

Remember, I've said this before, there are some major $$$ people/groups who have zero interest in ever providing a dollar towards NIL. They don't think student athletes should be getting paid. They also, coincidentally, tend to be the type that likes seeing their name on things and getting credit for as much as they can. 

[ousux 5596]

Different programs will offer different things. Right now Nike could sign NIL deals with every Oregon Athlete and subsidize their entire NIL program. That could be all that they offer, regardless of expertise, and they'd still be able to comfortably afford it and stay at the top of the hill on NIL. Now, that isn't what their program aims to be doing, but the point is that different funding will come from different areas. As another poster said, Eugene and the state of Oregon can't offer the depth and breadth to what Austin and Texas can offer players. 

As a whiny aggie said in a screenshot, why aren't we buying players lambos too? The dumbshit was too stupid to realize that our NIL is legit for those cars, and Bryan/College Station doesn't have a fucking lambo dealership. In other words, I'm not sure the Texas NIL groups need to "figure out" any specific holes. At least not in the near or medium term. Will Oregon's team perhaps find more "national" opportunities for players in the short or medium term? Quite possible, especially if they stack talent and win. Will they always have the option to have those kids show up in Nike ads? Sure. But Austin, and Texas, offer different things and there is no saying that they won't stack up equally or similarly to Oregon. So it's going to come down to different things different kids might want.

That being said, I'll be real curious what happens when Arch starts being successful here, with his built in national brand. I'm sure he'll show up in some commercials with his Uncles. And much like a scout showing up to see a star player and finding other quality guys, I'm not so sure the Arch effect won't drag other UT players higher into a national attention scale as well. 

Those rubes don't realize Bijan wasn't simply given a Lambo, they are on loan..as in he will switch models from time to time and the dealership will sell whatever he turns in with an appropriate "Bijan markup", which may or may not matter to prospective buyers, but they will still make a profit vs what they paid invoice for the car.

I'd love for aggy to all further empty out their piggy banks buying players fragile exotics that cost $200k+..and pay for the insurance for an 18 yo to drive the things lol.

[Huckleberry 32848]

22 minutes ago, Hiphopopotamos said:

Or do like basketball players have started doing and do not sign an NLI at all.  There is no reason to sign one.

Still waiting for recruits to figure this out. The NLI matters for lower recruits, but the elite have no reason to sign one. 

[Ricky's one-hitter 9084]

23 minutes ago, Hiphopopotamos said:

Or do like basketball players have started doing and do not sign an NLI at all.  There is no reason to sign one.

Not anymore, imo. 5 stars are going to land big payouts, but the entities on the hook for them aren't going to be strung along. The pool isn't bottomless. On top of that, roster management is impossible when you're waiting to find out who of your class enrolls. The fall transfer portal would be insane. Personally, I think it would be unfortunate to watch commits hold a whole team hostage for the potential of a higher bidder. Signing a NLI is good for everyone now, prospects included. 

Edited December 22, 2022 by Ricky's one-hitter

[Frank Drebin 5655]

14 minutes ago, Huckleberry said:

Still waiting for recruits to figure this out. The NLI matters for lower recruits, but the elite have no reason to sign one. 

I can see a guy like Arch wanting to sign one.  To show he is really committed and to draw others.

With free transfers and a nutless NCAA who is afraid to litigate anything because they will lose, is there even a real downside to signing the NLI? Seems like it is worthless paper if you are the school and a nice insurance policy for an athlete to reserve a spot.

[Huckleberry 32848]

1 minute ago, Frank Drebin said:

I can see a guy like Arch wanting to sign one.  To show he is really committed and to draw others.

With free transfers and a nutless NCAA who is afraid to litigate anything because they will lose, is there even a real downside to signing the NLI? Seems like it is worthless paper if you are the school and a nice insurance policy for an athlete to reserve a spot.

A 5 star could extend his recruiting and NLI research until the day he has to enroll. The downside is that it's an artificial deadline for a player who doesn't have to lock in a spot. In the NLI era that likely prevents an elite talent from maximizing his income. 

[NoName 16350]

7 minutes ago, Frank Drebin said:

I can see a guy like Arch wanting to sign one.  To show he is really committed and to draw others.

With free transfers and a nutless NCAA who is afraid to litigate anything because they will lose, is there even a real downside to signing the NLI? Seems like it is worthless paper if you are the school and a nice insurance policy for an athlete to reserve a spot.

if you are a top guy it keeps you from potentially losing your DC or DL coach or for a scheme change? if you are a 5* no reason for you ever to sign anything basically. What, you think Texas wasn't going to take Arch if he didn't sign a NLI? or advertise that he didn't sign one?

[Huckleberry 32848]

16 minutes ago, Ricky's one-hitter said:

Not anymore, imo. 5 stars are going to land big payouts, but the entities on the hook for them aren't going to be strung along. The pool isn't bottomless. On top of that, roster management is impossible when you're waiting to find out who of your class enrolls. The fall transfer portal would be insane. Personally, I think it would be unfortunate to watch commits hold a whole team hostage for the potential of a higher bidder. Signing a NLI is good for everyone now, prospects included. 

I don't understand what you're saying, the NLI binds the player to the school for one academic year. It's not stringing people along to wait to finalize your decision. It wouldn't work for the vast majority of recruits, but elite 5 stars could very easily inform the schools recruiting them that they will not be signing an NLI but instead will take their time and decide by, say, August 1st if they're not an EE.

In addition to maximizing income that would allow them to make sure there aren't coaching change shenanigans, see exactly who did sign at each school, see who transfers where in the late portal period, etc. Lots of reasons for elite players not to sign one. 

[closetojumping 62552]

13 minutes ago, Ricky's one-hitter said:

Not anymore, imo. 5 stars are going to land big payouts, but the entities on the hook for them aren't going to be strung along. The pool isn't bottomless. On top of that, roster management is impossible when you're waiting to find out who of your class enrolls. The fall transfer portal would be insane. Personally, I think it would be unfortunate to watch commits hold a whole team hostage for the potential of a higher bidder. Signing a NLI is good for everyone now, prospects included. 

I agree with this take. It is going to be interesting to see what Cormani McClain winds up doing with the second signing period. It's not the same thing, but there are some parallels. He announced, what, just yesterday morning that he wouldn't be signing until the second period? I get someone like Duce Robinson simply saying all along that he was going to wait. That at least doesn't make him look like a flake.

McClain looks like an arrogant flake, going the OB3 free agent route when he's done nothing at the college level. It was so obviously done to drive up the pricing that it could honestly turn everyone off. I'm skeptical it adds anything to his payday no matter what. And yeah, resources are finite and might always be redirected towards transfers, retainees or next cycle targets.

Another thing with delaying decisions for bidding war purposes is that you risk not remaining relevant. The transfer portal wraps before SD2 and then there's another portal period after spring practice. Rosters are getting set and needs are being filled in ways in which they never were in the past. 

LJ Johnson held off on signing early and enrolling early. Part of it was about money. Texas ultimately decided that he was a flake and just stopped talking to the guy. They weren't sure what they'd do if he just showed up for summer drills, either, because they were asked about it. You have to be the bluest of the blue to do shit like that, and even then there is risk, hence me wanting to see how it goes for McClain.

[JesusSweatDuck 17781]

5 minutes ago, Huckleberry said:

A 5 star could extend his recruiting and NLI research until the day he has to enroll. The downside is that it's an artificial deadline for a player who doesn't have to lock in a spot. In the NLI era that likely prevents an elite talent from maximizing his income. 

I can't remember, but all NIL stuff has to wait until the student has enrolled at least in TX, right?  If not, signing an NLI would allow you to kick start any NIL deals before actually stepping foot on campus.

[closetojumping 62552]

2 minutes ago, Huckleberry said:

I don't understand what you're saying, the NLI binds the player to the school for one academic year. It's not stringing people along to wait to finalize your decision. It wouldn't work for the vast majority of recruits, but elite 5 stars could very easily inform the schools recruiting them that they will not be signing an NLI but instead will take their time and decide by, say, August 1st if they're not an EE.

In addition to maximizing income that would allow them to make sure there aren't coaching change shenanigans, see exactly who did sign at each school, see who transfers where in the late portal period, etc. Lots of reasons for elite players not to sign one. 

It would have the opposite impact of maximizing NIL if a guy shows up on August 1 for drills. Those resources get allocated and having to come up with something new for a last minute guy further fatigues an already fatigued base. They'd be better off just doing a deal with Oregon and calling it a day if maximizing their payday was all that mattered to them.

No one is sitting on endowed NIL funding yet, or even close to it. The whole reason all players aren't on salary yet at Texas is that more extreme NIL stuff keeps coming into play.

At some point, enough is enough and that's already happened a few times. Washington tried to go the Worthy route last May and found out really quickly that there was no market. Now, that's not a 5 star, but the NIL world continues to expand rapidly. Last cycle, a few programs were utilizing NIL. This cycle, every player and every school is in some form. It doesn't make things more lucrative at the top for a guy if he waits the longest.

[TexasRenegade 2435]

10 minutes ago, Huckleberry said:

I don't understand what you're saying, the NLI binds the player to the school for one academic year. It's not stringing people along to wait to finalize your decision. It wouldn't work for the vast majority of recruits, but elite 5 stars could very easily inform the schools recruiting them that they will not be signing an NLI but instead will take their time and decide by, say, August 1st if they're not an EE.

In addition to maximizing income that would allow them to make sure there aren't coaching change shenanigans, see exactly who did sign at each school, see who transfers where in the late portal period, etc. Lots of reasons for elite players not to sign one. 

He's saying NIL guys aren't going to line up and comitt money to a recruit that hasn't signed something showing he's coming to a school.  There is a limited amount of funds out there and they are going to line it up for the players on campus or ones they have some certainty are coming.  You have 5 star A and 5 Star B.  A may be your preferred recruit, but if he says he is keeping his options open until August 1 and B says he is going to sign an NIL, you don't hold off on B because you might get A.

 

Plus there is the whole class momentum thing if you area  recruit the caliber of Arch.  Where it just makes sense to get on board and build a class.  I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't a recruit or 2 yesterday that didn't send their NLI in until they saw that Arch had.

Edited December 22, 2022 by TexasRenegade

[OB3 3608]

3 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

I agree with this take. It is going to be interesting to see what Cormani McClain winds up doing with the second signing period. It's not the same thing, but there are some parallels. He announced, what, just yesterday morning that he wouldn't be signing until the second period? I get someone like Duce Robinson simply saying all along that he was going to wait. That at least doesn't make him look like a flake.

McClain looks like an arrogant flake, going the OB3 free agent route when he's done nothing at the college level. It was so obviously done to drive up the pricing that it could honestly turn everyone off. I'm skeptical it adds anything to his payday no matter what. And yeah, resources are finite and might always be redirected towards transfers, retainees or next cycle targets.

Another thing with delaying decisions for bidding war purposes is that you risk not remaining relevant. The transfer portal wraps before SD2 and then there's another portal period after spring practice. Rosters are getting set and needs are being filled in ways in which they never were in the past. 

LJ Johnson held off on signing early and enrolling early. Part of it was about money. Texas ultimately decided that he was a flake and just stopped talking to the guy. They weren't sure what they'd do if he just showed up for summer drills, either, because they were asked about it. You have to be the bluest of the blue to do shit like that, and even then there is risk, hence me wanting to see how it goes for McClain.

[Ricky's one-hitter 9084]

1 minute ago, Huckleberry said:

I don't understand what you're saying, the NLI binds the player to the school for one academic year. It's not stringing people along to wait to finalize your decision. It wouldn't work for the vast majority of recruits, but elite 5 stars could very easily inform the schools recruiting them that they will not be signing an NLI but instead will take their time and decide by, say, August 1st if they're not an EE.

In addition to maximizing income that would allow them to make sure there aren't coaching change shenanigans, see exactly who did sign at each school, see who transfers where in the late portal period, etc. Lots of reasons for elite players not to sign one. 

I don't believe that athletes were fairly compensated pre-NIL. The letter of intent binding them to a school tipped the scales toward the institution. While signing an NLI isn't a financial guarantee of delivery on promises, it does put the collective on the hook to follow through - that's good business. 

All things being (ambiguous, but relatively) equal now, I'm not a proponent of athletes skirting the deadline, just in case Ruiz/Knight/anyone get a desperate phone call. That puts the team at a disadvantage as they would be unable to pursue elite talent to fill roster needs. Instead, all of them would be luxury takes. 

I agree with the coaching change point made here and above. That said, we've seen multiple signees be let out of their NLI. If we could remove any institutional discretion required to allow it, I'd be perfectly happy with how it currently works. 

[NoName 16350]

From Sam Khan Jr on State of Texas Recruiting Takeaways

Texas specific bits:
 

Quote

 

Steve Sarkisian recruited Arch Manning for more than three years. On Wednesday, the No. 1 prospect in the 2023 class officially signed with Texas, where he’ll enroll next month.

How soon Manning will throw a pass in a game for the Horns is unknown. Sarkisian was noncommittal when asked about the possibility of the quarterback redshirting.

“I’m not worried about redshirting, I’m worried about development,” Sarkisian said Wednesday. “We’ll deal with that when the time comes.”

There’s plenty of time for Sarkisian to figure out where Manning fits at a position that includes another former No. 1 recruit — Quinn Ewers — as a returning starter. For now, Sarkisian and his staff can enjoy a second consecutive top-five recruiting class. Texas ranks No. 3 in the 247Sports Composite team rankings, behind only Alabama and Georgia.

The Longhorns’ 2023 haul is more than its QB with the famous last name. The group includes four five-stars and 10 prospects ranked in the top 150 of the 247Sports Composite. Every offensive and defensive position group is accounted for among the 22 signees. Three players — Manning, linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. and running back Cedric Baxter Jr. — rank No. 1 at their  positions.

But Manning’s June commitment, which Sarkisian said came a little sooner than even he expected, became a catalyst for Texas’ recruiting efforts. Fifteen recruits committed after Manning, the nephew of Peyton and Eli and the grandson of Archie.

“There was a direct impact on the rest of the class,” Sarkisian said. “There were a lot of other players in this class that thought, ‘Man, if the No. 1 player in the country is going to Texas and believes in what they’re doing, that that’s a pretty good destination for me too.’”

Though he kept a famously minimal social media presence, occasionally posting on Instagram to entice other recruits, his presence in the class resonated. His name carried heft, but so did his skills. In New Orleans, he broke Isidore Newman School’s career record for passing yards, previously held by Eli, and passing touchdowns, previously held by Peyton. As a senior, he threw 34 touchdowns passes and just two interceptions.

“He’s got a great arm, he’s a good athlete, he’s got really good fundamentals,” Sarkisian said. “There’s not a throw he can’t make. … He’s got the desire, the competitiveness, the work ethic needed to be great at the position.”

Texas’ signing class generates more positive energy around a program that needed it heading into 2022. After a 5-7 debacle in Sarkisian’s debut season, Sarkisian overhauled the roster, adding 35 new scholarship players, including the No. 5 recruiting class in 2022. The Longhorns made tangible on-field progress, going 8-4. All of their losses came by seven points or fewer.

 

Full Text (covers Texas, A&M, Baylor, UTSA) - didn't realize UTSA's class was #58 overall and #1 amongst G5 programs.

Spoiler

Steve Sarkisian recruited Arch Manning for more than three years. On Wednesday, the No. 1 prospect in the 2023 class officially signed with Texas, where he’ll enroll next month.

How soon Manning will throw a pass in a game for the Horns is unknown. Sarkisian was noncommittal when asked about the possibility of the quarterback redshirting.

 

“I’m not worried about redshirting, I’m worried about development,” Sarkisian said Wednesday. “We’ll deal with that when the time comes.”

There’s plenty of time for Sarkisian to figure out where Manning fits at a position that includes another former No. 1 recruit — Quinn Ewers — as a returning starter. For now, Sarkisian and his staff can enjoy a second consecutive top-five recruiting class. Texas ranks No. 3 in the 247Sports Composite team rankings, behind only Alabama and Georgia.

The Longhorns’ 2023 haul is more than its QB with the famous last name. The group includes four five-stars and 10 prospects ranked in the top 150 of the 247Sports Composite. Every offensive and defensive position group is accounted for among the 22 signees. Three players — Manning, linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. and running back Cedric Baxter Jr. — rank No. 1 at their  positions.

 

But Manning’s June commitment, which Sarkisian said came a little sooner than even he expected, became a catalyst for Texas’ recruiting efforts. Fifteen recruits committed after Manning, the nephew of Peyton and Eli and the grandson of Archie.

“There was a direct impact on the rest of the class,” Sarkisian said. “There were a lot of other players in this class that thought, ‘Man, if the No. 1 player in the country is going to Texas and believes in what they’re doing, that that’s a pretty good destination for me too.’”

Though he kept a famously minimal social media presence, occasionally posting on Instagram to entice other recruits, his presence in the class resonated. His name carried heft, but so did his skills. In New Orleans, he broke Isidore Newman School’s career record for passing yards, previously held by Eli, and passing touchdowns, previously held by Peyton. As a senior, he threw 34 touchdowns passes and just two interceptions.

 

“He’s got a great arm, he’s a good athlete, he’s got really good fundamentals,” Sarkisian said. “There’s not a throw he can’t make. … He’s got the desire, the competitiveness, the work ethic needed to be great at the position.”

Texas’ signing class generates more positive energy around a program that needed it heading into 2022. After a 5-7 debacle in Sarkisian’s debut season, Sarkisian overhauled the roster, adding 35 new scholarship players, including the No. 5 recruiting class in 2022. The Longhorns made tangible on-field progress, going 8-4. All of their losses came by seven points or fewer.

Texas A&M’s recruiting rebound

Three weeks ago, Texas A&M didn’t have a single offensive skill position recruit in its 2023 class.

Since the Aggies’ season-ending win against LSU, which wrapped a disastrous 5-7 season, 23 scholarship players have entered the transfer portal, including six members of their top-ranked 2022 recruiting class.

But leading up to this early signing period, Jimbo Fisher and his staff rebounded with multiple key additions for 2023, including four offensive skill players.

The additions of five-star running back Rueben Owens II, four-star quarterback Marcel Reed, four-star tight end Jaden Platt and four-star receiver Micah Tease gave A&M a finishing flurry in key areas of need.

Owens, a former Louisville commitment who the Aggies have long recruited, committed two weeks ago after Scott Satterfield left the Cardinals for Cincinnati. Reed, formerly committed to Ole Miss, flipped Monday to A&M. Platt flipped from Stanford on Tuesday, and Tease, a former Arkansas commit, announced Wednesday that he’s headed to Aggieland.

“You just keep recruiting guys for long periods of time, and it’s never over ’til it’s over,” Fisher said.

 

The Aggies added seven players to the class in the first three weeks of December. Two longtime A&M commits have yet to sign: five-star defensive lineman David Hicks, who is scheduled to sign on Friday, and three-star defensive lineman Samu Taumanupepe, who has a signing ceremony in January, according to 247Sports.

 

The watch continues for Fisher to hire an offensive coordinator. He said Wednesday he has spoken to multiple candidates but hasn’t placed a timetable on the decision. He said the staff will continue to evaluate transfer portal options. And though the Aggies have lost a significant number of players via the portal, they’ve been able to hold on to the vast majority of their 2022 starters.

There’s much work ahead for Fisher to get the Aggies back on track, but Wednesday marked a key step. A&M’s class ranks 14th.

“We’ll continue to add to this class,” Fisher said. “This is just the first part of it.”

A loss and a ‘celebration’ at Baylor

Baylor took the biggest hit Wednesday, as quarterback Austin Novosad flipped his commitment to Oregon. The four-star and No. 119 player overall had been committed to the Bears for a year.

The Bears fended off other schools earlier this year, as Ohio State and Texas A&M each offered Novosad and hosted him on visits in June. Notre Dame also entered the race in July, but Novosad affirmed his commitment and appeared locked in with Baylor. But an eleventh hour weekend visit to Oregon put his status in doubt. Rumors reached a fever pitch on Tuesday before Novosad announced his intentions Wednesday morning.

 

Novosad is the second longtime commit Baylor lost this month, joining three-star linebacker Taurean York, who signed with Texas A&M. York committed to Baylor in June but decommitted Dec. 11.

Asked about the losses, Baylor coach Dave Aranda focused on who the Bears signed in a class that ranks No. 31.

“I’m really excited about the guys we’ve got,” Aranda said. “It was a celebration this morning, really, with the group we’ve got coming in.”

With Novosad’s decommitment and backup quarterback Kyron Drones transferring to Virginia Tech this month, the Bears are thin at quarterback behind starter Blake Shapen. Aranda said Baylor will look to the transfer portal.

‘It’s N-I-L: Now It’s Legal’

On Monday night, UTSA coach Jeff Traylor raised eyebrows.

“Dear @NCAAFootball,” he tweeted. “How does @UTSAFTBL report Power 5 Schools who are trying to poach our young talent? How much evidence do we really need to make this not be a part of our game?”

 

Traylor garnered tons of reaction, from other coaches who echoed his sentiment about tampering to critics who called for him to name names. On Wednesday, after putting the finishing touches on the best signing class in UTSA history, Traylor elaborated on his frustration, saying some of his players have come to him with name, image and likeness opportunities at other schools. NCAA rules state that players aren’t supposed to be contacted by other schools until they are officially in the transfer portal.

“The rules are, you can’t tamper,” Traylor said. “So what do the guys do that have been cheating forever? They go third party, and you can’t catch them.

“So then you go to your player who’s coming to you telling you what school is offering them what, and you ask the kid if he’ll turn them into the NCAA, and the kid’s like, ‘I can’t coach, then all the (other) players would be mad at me, because I’m costing the (other) players money.’”

Traylor is the latest coach to air grievances regarding tampering. Washington State coach Jake Dickert recently sounded off, as did Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi and North Carolina coach Mack Brown. Fisher mentioned it at his A&M signing day news conference Wednesday: “There’s so much tampering going on, it’s utterly ridiculous.”

Asked what’s preventing Traylor from being more open with his accusations, Traylor said proof is hard to come by.

“Those guys have been doing this for years,” Traylor said. “It’s N-I-L: Now It’s Legal. They’ve got agents. There’s a workaround. You’re not gonna get a text, you’re not gonna get a screenshot. They’re really good at what they do, and it’s gonna take some serious enforcement to make guys quit it.”

He added that he spoke with NCAA officials before his Monday tweet, but “they don’t have the manpower,” he said, to enforce the rules.

“They need me to go on record, saying who,” Traylor said. “Then it’s gonna be my word versus his word. And I don’t want to get my players in that, because I’ve already talked to them. They really don’t wanna go down that road. But the people that are doing it, they saw my tweet.”

Traylor said he’s not against NIL and he’s in favor of players making money. But he’s upset that Group of 5 programs like his sign and develop players only to have to fend off Power 5 programs. He also noted that UTSA’s NIL efforts need to increase and that the school’s administration must continue investing in the program.

The Roadrunners’ 2023 class ranks 58th, which is No. 1 among programs that will be in the Group of 5 next season.

“I didn’t come here to be the best G5,” Traylor said. “I want us to get (to the top of the) Power 5. So, to me, we’re (57) spots behind where we need to be.

“We’ve got to get our NIL money up or we’re never gonna get there.”

 

From Andy Staples Recruiting Mailbag (The Athletic)

Quote

 

How would the Texas and Oklahoma recruiting classes rank within the SEC this year? Texas and OU currently sit at No. 1 and No. 2 respectively in the Big 12. — Randy

The classes Steve Sarkisian and Brent Venables have put together so far would fit very well in the league they might be joining in 2024.

As of this writing, the Texas class of 2023 sits at No. 3 in the nation, and Oklahoma sits at No. 8. This would rank those two programs No. 3 and No. 5, respectively, in the SEC.

There is no question that recruiting in the SEC is the most cutthroat environment in the college football business, and it is not for the faint of heart. But Sarkisian has served as Alabama’s offensive coordinator. And while Venables hasn’t coached in the SEC, he did go head-to-head against the SEC’s elite recruiters as Clemson’s defensive coordinator.

If the Sooners can hold this spot through the February signing period, this class would rank higher in the 247Sports Composite than all but one of the classes Lincoln Riley signed as Oklahoma’s head coach. (The 2019 class, headlined by current South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler and now-former Arkansas receiver Jadon Haselwood, ranked No. 6.)

Quarterback Arch Manning headlines the Longhorns’ class, but the flip of linebacker Anthony Hill (No. 19 overall) from Texas A&M also was a huge win for Texas. Last year’s class, which ranked No. 5 in the nation and would have ranked No. 4 in the SEC, was all about the big guys with seven offensive or defensive linemen ranked in the top 250 nationally. The top of this year’s class contains more skill-position players.

As noted in the answer to the Michigan question, much depends on how the respective staffs develop these players. But the Longhorns and Sooners should have rosters that fit nicely in the SEC when they arrive.

 

 

[Teamdirtyleg 1060]

15 minutes ago, Huckleberry said:

I don't understand what you're saying, the NLI binds the player to the school for one academic year. It's not stringing people along to wait to finalize your decision. It wouldn't work for the vast majority of recruits, but elite 5 stars could very easily inform the schools recruiting them that they will not be signing an NLI but instead will take their time and decide by, say, August 1st if they're not an EE.

In addition to maximizing income that would allow them to make sure there aren't coaching change shenanigans, see exactly who did sign at each school, see who transfers where in the late portal period, etc. Lots of reasons for elite players not to sign one. 

That’s what Jadaveon Clowney did, if I remember correctly.  I also seem to recollect that by him not signing and waiting till summer cost him some interest from a few of the schools that were originally courting him. 

[C-Man 27185]

3 hours ago, closetojumping said:

RGBIII already answered the Texas question. I don’t think Oregon is that far off of 1 either, simply because they don’t have to be. Lanning was part of the bag machine at Georgia so I’m sure yesterday’s chicanery boiled down to some good old fashioned baggage handling, but it’s mostly unnecessary now. They have Knight’s full financial backing. They can wink and nod about what someone gets on campus and then load them up and keep them. They’re off of 1 mostly because they choose to be, not because they have to be. 

ATM is at a 10 and they may be the only team there. We talked to an official elsewhere about their bullshit and that person said “all they’re doing is money laundering and then claiming that everyone else is too”. They haven’t adjusted to legit NIL and the aggie staff is fully involved with paying players for playing. It’s somewhat phenomenal to witness. Legit NIL is rapidly in ascent and these goobers are doing donuts in the school parking lot in their brand new ‘85 trans am, hollering “whoop!!” as the tires squeal and $1 bills spill out in front of the sophomores. 

Miami is backed by a true slime ball in Ruiz, but they’re allegedly somewhat compliant. Miami has too many native competitive advantages with NIL for them not to figure it out better than most. The only things working against them is a stadium situation that is laughable, a fanbase that doesn’t really exist, and a coaching staff whose core talent was being able to buy players when others viewed it as illegal. 

Inject that shit directly into my veins.

 

 

2 hours ago, pacman said:

Oregon's big advantage is one heavy hitter has taken it upon himself to get involved, with the full weight of his empire.

I believe others have stated that Texas is still waiting on a big alum to get involved in that fashion.

Having said that, we don't get through the 2023 class so smoothly without excellent work by the existing Texas NIL programs.

And what happens when Phil Knight goes bye bye?

 

1 hour ago, closetojumping said:

They're all eventually going to realize that there are key roles on the business development and brand experience side that need focused, experienced personnel owning these responsibilities. There isn't currently someone on the Texas One Fund side working to cut deals with corporate entities in order to showcase players for NIL. Some of that has popped up. Some corporate have gone directly to players. Agents for big time players have helped (Bijan's team helped him maximize his NIL opps to close to $3M). 

It's a known gap in the growing machine on UT NIL's end. I don't know if it is even recognized anywhere outside of Oregon, us, and probably USC and Miami (corporate in both regions have been actively trying to work with their programs since last July). The good news is, most places won't be able to do much about the corporate side of NIL unless they are consistently nationally relevant. Take Bama at the moment. Big corporate is all over their stars, but what happens when they're wandering in the wilderness? Not much native corporate for them during the darker times. 

We have belabored the Oregon situation regarding NIL since literally the dawn of NIL. They have huge advantages engineered through one massively wealthy and connected alum. They have all the money they could ever need and they have an all star team running their NIL machine from one of the biggest marketing and brand-building giants the world has ever known.

The only disadvantages they have are 1) you can't move Eugene somewhere else and 2) they may wind up in the Mountain West. If a player is only about the money and building his brand, Oregon is the best choice on the map, rivaled only by Texas, USC, maybe Miami, UNC, Ohio State, UCLA, Georgia and whoever else is running boss over the sport at any given time.

Until further notice, the biggest force in NIL will remain Oregon. And Knight is allegedly leaving Oregon athletics something around $1B when he's gone. That's a rumor, but I see no evidence to discount it. 

Frankly, I find it best to just ignore Oregon. If we go head up with them on someone, it's not like we can't win it, but it's going to depend upon that person's key driver - if it is money, only Oregon lacks a limit for any recruit. For those who have wondered, Knight, his team, and Texas NIL aren't enemies currently, and Nike views the UT brand as a pillar brand for them in college sports. I don't expect to butt heads as much with them as some other schools will. We'll see. 

The work on the mega $$$ alums continues in earnest and there have have been multiple entities participating at mid-6 figures upward who will continue to do so. More is needed. Just like more crowdfunding is always needed. But a lot of BMDs have stepped up or have soft circled that they will. 

Invention is ludicrously hard and building everything from the ground up that didn't previously exist takes time, patience, vision, courage, money, and institutional support. Those ingredients are all in Texas NIL's favor as much as anyone's right now.

Oh, hmm. Well, there you go.

At any rate, probably in Texas' best interest to remain a Nike school for the foreseeable future.

[tokamak 6391]

26 minutes ago, Huckleberry said:

A 5 star could extend his recruiting and NLI research until the day he has to enroll. The downside is that it's an artificial deadline for a player who doesn't have to lock in a spot. In the NLI era that likely prevents an elite talent from maximizing his income. 

[Huckleberry 32848]

19 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

It would have the opposite impact of maximizing NIL if a guy shows up on August 1 for drills. Those resources get allocated and having to come up with something new for a last minute guy further fatigues an already fatigued base. They'd be better off just doing a deal with Oregon and calling it a day if maximizing their payday was all that mattered to them.

No one is sitting on endowed NIL funding yet, or even close to it. The whole reason all players aren't on salary yet at Texas is that more extreme NIL stuff keeps coming into play.

At some point, enough is enough and that's already happened a few times. Washington tried to go the Worthy route last May and found out really quickly that there was no market. Now, that's not a 5 star, but the NIL world continues to expand rapidly. Last cycle, a few programs were utilizing NIL. This cycle, every player and every school is in some form. It doesn't make things more lucrative at the top for a guy if he waits the longest.

 

18 minutes ago, TexasRenegade said:

He's saying NIL guys aren't going to line up and comitt money to a recruit that hasn't signed something showing he's coming to a school.  There is a limited amount of funds out there and they are going to line it up for the players on campus or ones they have some certainty are coming.  You have 5 star A and 5 Star B.  A may be your preferred recruit, but if he says he is keeping his options open until August 1 and B says he is going to sign an NIL, you don't hold off on B because you might get A.

 

Plus there is the whole class momentum thing if you area  recruit the caliber of Arch.  Where it just makes sense to get on board and build a class.  I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't a recruit or 2 yesterday that didn't send their NLI in until they saw that Arch had.

I agree there's risk and yes, August 1st is probably way too far. But I still think the concept that the signing windows are artificial deadlines that limit options is true. Again, for the most elite only. And I also completely agree on not seeming like a flake, that's why I made sure to say that it would only be an elite recruit who was open from the beginning that he wasn't going to force himself to sign in the NLI window.

[Sir Ulrich 5187]

 

 

[D3zii 3675]

Soooo I may have missed it but from what I seen on the board is Moore officially out?? 
 

nvm *sees post above 

Edited December 22, 2022 by D3zii

[Bevo 13564]

1 hour ago, Burt Macklin said:

Son of a bitch. I’m the old, confused one. 

 

[campcrunk 2437]

4 minutes ago, D3zii said:

Soooo I may have missed it but from what I seen on the board is Moore officially out?? 
 

nvm *sees post above 

I think one of the $9.95ers was saying something to the effect of "if Moore doesn't sign by Thursday [today], Texas will move on." So assuming that's accurate, he's still got a few hours to make up his mind

[Junior Bonner 6242]

4 minutes ago, Sir Ulrich said:

 

 

[Vertigo 20276]

1 hour ago, closetojumping said:

They're all eventually going to realize that there are key roles on the business development and brand experience side that need focused, experienced personnel owning these responsibilities. There isn't currently someone on the Texas One Fund side working to cut deals with corporate entities in order to showcase players for NIL. Some of that has popped up. Some corporate have gone directly to players. Agents for big time players have helped (Bijan's team helped him maximize his NIL opps to close to $3M). 

It's a known gap in the growing machine on UT NIL's end. I don't know if it is even recognized anywhere outside of Oregon, us, and probably USC and Miami (corporate in both regions have been actively trying to work with their programs since last July). The good news is, most places won't be able to do much about the corporate side of NIL unless they are consistently nationally relevant. Take Bama at the moment. Big corporate is all over their stars, but what happens when they're wandering in the wilderness? Not much native corporate for them during the darker times. 

We have belabored the Oregon situation regarding NIL since literally the dawn of NIL. They have huge advantages engineered through one massively wealthy and connected alum. They have all the money they could ever need and they have an all star team running their NIL machine from one of the biggest marketing and brand-building giants the world has ever known.

The only disadvantages they have are 1) you can't move Eugene somewhere else and 2) they may wind up in the Mountain West. If a player is only about the money and building his brand, Oregon is the best choice on the map, rivaled only by Texas, USC, maybe Miami, UNC, Ohio State, UCLA, Georgia and whoever else is running boss over the sport at any given time.

Until further notice, the biggest force in NIL will remain Oregon. And Knight is allegedly leaving Oregon athletics something around $1B when he's gone. That's a rumor, but I see no evidence to discount it. 

Frankly, I find it best to just ignore Oregon. If we go head up with them on someone, it's not like we can't win it, but it's going to depend upon that person's key driver - if it is money, only Oregon lacks a limit for any recruit. For those who have wondered, Knight, his team, and Texas NIL aren't enemies currently, and Nike views the UT brand as a pillar brand for them in college sports. I don't expect to butt heads as much with them as some other schools will. We'll see. 

The work on the mega $$$ alums continues in earnest and there have have been multiple entities participating at mid-6 figures upward who will continue to do so. More is needed. Just like more crowdfunding is always needed. But a lot of BMDs have stepped up or have soft circled that they will. 

Invention is ludicrously hard and building everything from the ground up that didn't previously exist takes time, patience, vision, courage, money, and institutional support. Those ingredients are all in Texas NIL's favor as much as anyone's right now.

Sarkisian said something interesting in his PC yesterday, and Oregon's actions would seem to back this up. He said he hasn't really encountered a ton of tampering yet. Now we know there has been some with Worthy and Barron, and even last years antics with A&M, but by and large, we are not getting teabagged by other programs. In retrospect, Oregon seems like they went after smaller schools in Texas who had good players signed, or schools that are lagging in NIL: Baylor, Notre Dame, etc.  This is a pretty smart since they know they can basically swoop in at will on those guys. 

None of Oregon, USC, or Miami really targeted us for late flips related to NIL. I am sure that is because they know they don't want to poke that bear, and while Texas is not a major revenue component, we are still a flagship Nike school in the college landscape. To my knowledge Baylor and Notre Dame are both Nike Schools, Notre Dame in year 1 of that. It would be curious if you start seeing Oregon targeting Adidas, Reebok, and Jordan schools more so than their own. It could be an interesting carrot and stick for future apparel deals. 

[BrewmanTX 76]

1 hour ago, closetojumping said:

It helps. Frankly, the Texas Exes are fucking worthless. I mean they have not done a fucking thing and don't seem to actually exist for any real purpose other than happy hour. I'd love for someone to explain what it is that they are supposed to do. The biggest thing is having the LHF and the AD aligned with the NIL efforts. That alignment is real and helping break things down.

Remember, I've said this before, there are some major $$$ people/groups who have zero interest in ever providing a dollar towards NIL. They don't think student athletes should be getting paid. They also, coincidentally, tend to be the type that likes seeing their name on things and getting credit for as much as they can. 

I can only speak for the Dallas Texas Exes, but we have raised millions for scholarships. The chapter has funded three Forty Acre Scholars, which provides a full ride based on academics, stemming the flow of top students in Texas going to schools like Duke. Additionally the chapter has given out countless need-based scholarships. I believe Houston has done pretty much the same. Smaller chapters do what they can, providing need-based scholarships to local students.

[The Dog 44019]

9 minutes ago, Sir Ulrich said:

 

 

aw shit he gone. 

[Laxtonto 12078]

3 minutes ago, campcrunk said:

I think one of the $9.95ers was saying something to the effect of "if Moore doesn't sign by Thursday [today], Texas will move on." So assuming that's accurate, he's still got a few hours to make up his mind

So Louisville is trying to come up with a big enough Adidas bag to overcome a new coach and staff and the fact that Louisville is no where the same from an exposure and academic standpoint than Texas.

Sounds like the same discussion is being had with Moore as should have been had with the TE aggy signed away from Stanford.

 

[Lou_Sassle 2874]

4 minutes ago, Vertigo said:

Sarkisian said something interesting in his PC yesterday, and Oregon's actions would seem to back this up. He said he hasn't really encountered a ton of tampering yet. Now we know there has been some with Worthy and Barron, and even last years antics with A&M, but by and large, we are not getting teabagged by other programs. In retrospect, Oregon seems like they went after smaller schools in Texas who had good players signed, or schools that are lagging in NIL: Baylor, Notre Dame, etc.  This is a pretty smart since they know they can basically swoop in at will on those guys. 

None of Oregon, USC, or Miami really targeted us for late flips related to NIL. I am sure that is because they know they don't want to poke that bear, and while Texas is not a major revenue component, we are still a flagship Nike school in the college landscape. To my knowledge Baylor and Notre Dame are both Nike Schools, Notre Dame in year 1 of that. It would be curious if you start seeing Oregon targeting Adidas, Reebok, and Jordan schools more so than their own. It could be an interesting carrot and stick for future apparel deals. 

Jordan brand is owned by Nike.

[MuellerHorn 4228]

9 minutes ago, Vertigo said:

None of Oregon, USC, or Miami really targeted us for late flips related to NIL. I am sure that is because they know they don't want to poke that bear, and while Texas is not a major revenue component, we are still a flagship Nike school in the college landscape. To my knowledge Baylor and Notre Dame are both Nike Schools, Notre Dame in year 1 of that. It would be curious if you start seeing Oregon targeting Adidas, Reebok, and Jordan schools more so than their own. It could be an interesting carrot and stick for future apparel deals. 

Notre Dame is with Under Armor through 2024.

Jordan is Nike.

Edited December 22, 2022 by MuellerHorn

[allrightallrightallright 67]

8 minutes ago, Vertigo said:

 To my knowledge Baylor and Notre Dame are both Nike Schools, Notre Dame in year 1 of that.

Notre Dame is under contract with under armor through 2024.  Not a nike school yet...maybe that's why Oregon targeted them

[Reese Bennett 3608]

ou Twitter blowing up about that Denton guy. I thought this was interesting. Whether it is true, well, I have my doubts.

 

[UnhappilyMarried 815]

5 minutes ago, allrightallrightallright said:

Notre Dame is under contract with under armor through 2024.  Not a nike school yet...maybe that's why Oregon targeted them

“Wear our logo or we’ll keep taking your lunch money” is an amazing negotiating tactic 

[Bodacious Bevo 3584]

Y'all are forgetting the biggest benefit of the NLI. All the other staffs have to back off. After 2 years of bs I'd want some peace and quiet. 

 

25 minutes ago, Vertigo said:

Sarkisian said something interesting in his PC yesterday, and Oregon's actions would seem to back this up. He said he hasn't really encountered a ton of tampering yet. Now we know there has been some with Worthy and Barron, and even last years antics with A&M, but by and large, we are not getting teabagged by other programs. In retrospect, Oregon seems like they went after smaller schools in Texas who had good players signed, or schools that are lagging in NIL: Baylor, Notre Dame, etc.  This is a pretty smart since they know they can basically swoop in at will on those guys. 

None of Oregon, USC, or Miami really targeted us for late flips related to NIL. I am sure that is because they know they don't want to poke that bear, and while Texas is not a major revenue component, we are still a flagship Nike school in the college landscape. To my knowledge Baylor and Notre Dame are both Nike Schools, Notre Dame in year 1 of that. It would be curious if you start seeing Oregon targeting Adidas, Reebok, and Jordan schools more so than their own. It could be an interesting carrot and stick for future apparel deals. 

USC has gone after Worthy twice. They've poked the bear plenty. 

Miami went after Derek Williams. There was also that one tweet about Hill possibly visiting the final weekend, though I'm not sure if that was legit at all. 

[statsman 5450]

Thanks for all the NIL explanations. So, as I understand it- UT doesn’t really get in bidding wars per se, because we just explain the situation and don’t make counters? Our pitch is like “Signing here is like taking employment at a Fortune 500 company. Everything is transparent and on the ‘up and up’. The floor of NIL here is higher than almost anywhere else, plus all the other benefits that have always accrued to Longhorn athletes. The ceiling of earnings is determined by your performance.
Contrast that with A&M, where signing on is more akin to standing in the parking lot of a QT in the morning, waiting for the boss to drive up and give you a gig for the day.” Is that about right?

Edited December 22, 2022 by statsman

[WBT 20561]

1 hour ago, closetojumping said:

It helps. Frankly, the Texas Exes are fucking worthless. I mean they have not done a fucking thing and don't seem to actually exist for any real purpose other than happy hour.

Alread addressed but their fundraising goals are aimed at providing scholarships based on financial need and/or academic achievement and not paying football players.  As the recipient of a nearly full ride texas exes academic scholarship, I don't find that fucking worthless.  Your mileage may vary.

[irishtexan 11515]

11 minutes ago, Bodacious Bevo said:

Miami went after Derek Williams. There was also that one tweet about Hill possibly visiting the final weekend, though I'm not sure if that was legit at all. 

Miami going after Derek Williams and Hill setting up visits after a non-binding verbal commitment to UT is not tampering. That's recruiting. Schools can't officially communicate or entice a player enrolled at a different school. Big difference. 

[Bodacious Bevo 3584]

6 minutes ago, statsman said:

Thanks for all the NIL explanations. So, as I understand it- UT doesn’t really get in bidding wars per se, because we just explain the situation and don’t make counters? Our pitch is like “Signing here is like taking employment at a Fortune 500 company. Everything is transparent and on the ‘up and up’. The floor of NIL here is higher than almost anywhere else, plus all the other benefits that have always accrued to Longhorn athletes. The ceiling of earnings is determined by your performance.
Contrast that with A&M, where signing on is more akin to standing in the parking lot of a QT in the morning, waiting for the boss to drive up and give you a gig for the day.” Is that about right?

I think this is generally a good way of looking at how our coaches are involved with recruits. But also consider that you're asking people to tattle for any scenario that doesn't play out like that. 

[Mitch Cumsteen 18547]

29 minutes ago, WBT said:

Alread addressed but their fundraising goals are aimed at providing scholarships based on financial need and/or academic achievement and not paying football players.  As the recipient of a nearly full ride texas exes academic scholarship, I don't find that fucking worthless.  Your mileage may vary.

You gotta fucking problem with happy hour?

[PNWhornsfan 391]

51 minutes ago, Reese Bennett said:

ou Twitter blowing up about that Denton guy. I thought this was interesting. Whether it is true, well, I have my doubts.

 

Seems to match up with what's coming out of the Oregon side, about his mom wanting nothing to do with Oregon.  Not sure what her reason is, but my guess is that Lanning and the staff tried to get his mom on board with him going to Oregon last night and got shut down.

[EZ$ 2102]

36 minutes ago, irishtexan said:

Miami going after Derek Williams and Hill setting up visits after a non-binding verbal commitment to UT is not tampering. That's recruiting. Schools can't officially communicate or entice a player enrolled at a different school. Big difference. 

Tell that to Jimbo. He thought teams contacting aggies in the portal was tampering….

 

Edited December 22, 2022 by EZ$

[Reese Bennett 3608]

14 minutes ago, PNWhornsfan said:

Seems to match up with what's coming out of the Oregon side, about his mom wanting nothing to do with Oregon.  Not sure what her reason is, but my guess is that Lanning and the staff tried to get his mom on board with him going to Oregon last night and got shut down.

That seems plausible based on what happened yesterday, but I was thinking more about the idea that he got a no from Texas and that Notre Dame polled their recruits and turned him down. If that's anywhere close to reality, it sure seems like ou is not getting a guy who really wants to be there. 

[TexasRenegade 2435]

52 minutes ago, irishtexan said:

Miami going after Derek Williams and Hill setting up visits after a non-binding verbal commitment to UT is not tampering. That's recruiting. Schools can't officially communicate or entice a player enrolled at a different school. Big difference. 

He was responding to the part about Miami, Oregon, and usc not targeting us for late flips.

 

Miami came after Hill and supposedly tried to splash the pot with DeAndre Moore yesterday.  Miami definitely came after us hard last year, different regime, but Nike was still running things.

[TommyGufano 6021]

20 minutes ago, Reese Bennett said:

That seems plausible based on what happened yesterday, but I was thinking more about the idea that he got a no from Texas and that Notre Dame polled their recruits and turned him down. If that's anywhere close to reality, it sure seems like ou is not getting a guy who really wants to be there. 

I'd love for it to be true, but the tweet came from the account "CatholicIrish" -- I'd say jilted ND fan making shit up  on Twitter is far more likely than there being much truth in that story

[Lonestar88 4629]

13 minutes ago, TommyGufano said:

I'd love for it to be true, but the tweet came from the account "CatholicIrish" -- I'd say jilted ND fan making shit up  on Twitter is far more likely than there being much truth in that story

Yeah, there is absolutely no reason to believe that story other than just wanting to.

[TrashMaster G 17543]

Lots of talk on the intricacies of NIL.  Seems like a pretty big topic, probably worthy of having a dedicated place for discussion.

 

Back on topic: What are the chances we actually sign Deandre Moore? Duce Robinson?

Edited December 22, 2022 by TrashMaster G