soulpatch

Looking at the site, I don't see where UM of is involved at all. From what I see, it's non-University private citizens that are coordinating NIL activities in support of a particular program (but with no clear signs that it's in coordination with it). https://valiantuofm.com/pages/about Let's recall, Terrelle Pryor was run out of CFB for selling autographed merchandise while the head of compliance within tOSU Athletic Department (who I believe pulled 7-figures but certainly got paid a metric ton) kept his job after A) leaving a paper trail on how this was coordinated with Tressel and B) definitely having 'zero idea that tOSU athletes were (actually illegally) making money off their name'. Sunlight is the best disinfectant

Well, if we're dusting off old posts, I don't wanna miss out

Yeah, that 💯 goes hard. If we're scoring for CFB programs' IG game, >>>>🐯 Want to see a product that wins on the field but am pleasantly, errr, pleased by how much fresher our social game is.

I could be misreading, but I don't think that's what OP was suggesting. I took his question as "can't boosters work directly with ND players to have them as spokespersons, because one would think there would be a lot of big corporations A) in NDs alum network that B) would fall over themselves to put ND players in front of their brands". And, as a follow up question, "is it illegal/verbotten for members of the alum network to do this with ND players (or recruits that may/may not come to ND)?"

With the lovie smith defense that I've seen, I'm not sure they'd prioritize a unicorn safety (though, they should).

Really great write up on Kyle over at The Ringer. https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2022/3/28/22996666/kyle-hamilton-nfl-draft-top-pick-safety-value Watching the highlights, I'm reminded all over again of what we we're missing after he went down. His loss said a lot about a lot of things. First, that ND's general depth is so much better than the Weis-ie-ngham years that his loss wasn't viewed as a season ender. And, it says a lot about him that in this poster's (underinformed) opinion, he was leagues better than Harrison Smith in his final season. Finally, the lense into his play at all three levels is a depressing reminder of how much talent we lost when he went down. Don't see how the bowl game is even close if he's on the field.

The argument you were making wasn't simply that breaking rules is wrong, it was that breaking rules in NIL was going to lead college football to ruin. My counter argument was that breaking rules around recruitment/paying players has been a significant part of college football forever. So, if that's what going to ruin it, it happened long before NIL.

$8M for 3 years doesn't sound like something that would threaten the existence of something that came about as a result of lawsuits. And, honestly, it doesn't seem like all that much money. I mean, if someone as 'meh' as Mel Tucker gets $100M/$10M-year and you have 15+ programs earning >$85M/year, I'd expect to see more go out the door. Really, I would wager that there are already deals in this neighborhood but they're just not publicized.

Because prior to NIL all teams obeyed the rules and money had no influence on recruitment.

Their sprint program is fine, if you're not an aspiring Olympian. If this kid has an eye on the Olympics, the pool of candidate schools (football plus career-building sprint program) gets incredibly small and will 100% end with him in the SEC.

IMHO, this is a huge get. The defensive coaching experience in and of itself is significant but the experience leading a blue blood is a really big deal given we have no other prior HC experience. Welcome aboard, Coach Golden.

I have no insider information (and am not particularly bright) but I get the feel that this is all just a negotiating ploy with UM. Seems like Oakland was his if he wanted it and it just never heated up. Given that he's sniffing at a job that his ole SF buddy is at and another that is all tied up/invested in UM smells like driving the price up. Of course, let's hope I'm wrong. If harbs was to leave UM at this point they'd be pretty f'd.

He also appeared to pick up an Asst HC title, which I'm sure didn't hurt.

One quibble is that it's arguably the best that any program could hope for.

I'm sure he's a family man, but there are professional and financial considerations that would also factor in. I mean, to coach at a power5 level, you're already making family sacrifices and you're ambitious about your career. Those can be taken as facts.

I love where you're going with this and it should be a fun conversation. I also like where you're going, though I'd tweak it a bit. Power running game - No doubt here, though, you could simplify this to winning the trenches (although, that may be too vague) I think I might change this to experienced depth in the Oline and a separate bullet of rusher that can push a pile QB who can run/complete deep passes - I think more important is having a playmaker. Stetson didn't have a great deep ball, it certainly was worse than Bryce's, IMHO. Buuuut, he just made more plays. This the same with guys like Watson or Lawrence or Rice ....they had mobility and arm talent, but what truly separated them is that they made more plays than the opposing QB in any game they played. Leinart ended up being trash but I'll be damned if he didn't make more critical plays in CFB (that frickin 4th down completion still kills me). Speed - too vague, but yes. And, I might express it as skilled speed. Defense - way too vague, IMHO. You definitely need defense but what makes it championship level? Like offense, you gotta win the trenches I think you need a killer leader, ideally in the LB corps but I think some teams do it in the secondary. Someone behind a killer dline that the unit rallies around. Relentless Recruiting - I'd express this as something like >=92 avg recruit score on 247. You have to have multiple years in that top cluster (traditionally inhabited by OSU, Bama ...and more recently, Georgia) Some Additional I'd add special teams to this. I think the great teams almost always kill it in the third unit. I think of Meyer's UF teams that had all the headline guys in that space and just slayed there. A coach that plays to win. You have to go for the throat at all times. Those teams that play not to lose get separated at that highest level. Most importantly, you need a team full of the types of players whose lives hinge on winning. Call it culture, but a culture where winning matters and, really, is the only thing that matters. This is especially true of programs that sustain championship caliber play. You observe this in places like ST where a team can play technically proficient but a championship team plays to assert its will.

Maybe there are misconceptions about where college football revenues are (and are not) going these days.🤷‍♂️

That feels like a leap, for two reasons. First, In what part of our capitalist economy would a university convince students to pay a higher tuition to attend a university that uses this tuition to fund a football program above-and-beyond what its own revenue could fund it (and, even if a university managed to successfully sustain that model, who cares if some idiots convince themselves to spend their tuition on that)? Secondly, since 1980, tuitions have increased 1200% while inflation has increased 225%. Sooooo, isn't that already a problem? And, if so, doesn't that strongly suggest a few things? Namely 1) academic quality has nothing to do with tuition 2) only rich students can actually afford a university degree and 3) NIL isn't really some strong threat to exacerbate a problem that's already untenable.

Well, that's moving the goalposts a little but I'll go with it for a minute. Give this a look and tell me what about college's most dominant football conference (the same one that gainfully employed the coach I quoted earlier) suggests it's more/as focused on helping young athletes find some success as employees and people? For me, there is a clear and stark contrast and it proves that the opposite is true. And, taking it back to the central point we're debating here - it is tangible proof that "student" does not have a place next to "athlete" in the current college football system. And, let me stress, I'm not laying this at the feet of the kids themselves, moreso the many, many other people (coaches, athletic administrations, on-air personalities, sportswear companies, etc.) that actually benefit from this financially. There is ZERO motivation for them to make sure these kids are actually put in a position to improve their lot in life while, on the other hand, there are MILLIONS of reasons (in dollars alone, not to mention stature, influence, ego-stroke, etc.) to minimize the investment in studies/non-athletic growth. So, the cash goes to everybody OFF the field as they suggest they're in it for the wellbeing of the kids ON the field.. ...the ones actually doing the thing that generates the revenue in the first place.

Or, am I being fair to the system(s) that dictates terms to the players....

This is certainly an angle that I hadn't considered but I think where these two paths diverge is what happens post graduation. Neither of them is nearly as likely as traditional students to get an actual education. The trust-fund-baby with social influence is more likely to land a paying gig because of that social influence. Meanwhile, the football player's only real path is parlaying football into a paying gig and unless they make the pros or become one of the 1-2 players at State U that gain notoriety to become marketable for an alumnus with a business, they're back in the pool of people without a college education.

However, unlike the vast majority of the rest of the students, these students generate a massive stream of revenue for the university that, essentially, every other person associated with that effort profits from.

You should look one page back... .. W/ DC coaches, I'd suspect a few days to interview and a week or two to hire. On WR, the prior page has all kinds of discussion.

I am not super familiar with Shephard but what little I do know leaves me confident that he'd be an upgrade. And, Coach D's seal of approval goes a long way, IMHO, given that he was himself a WR coach. Hope we seal the deal.

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