ORLANDO, Fla. — For the second year in a row we caught up with some of the best high school football players in the country at the Under Armour All-America Game’s media day event to tackle a variety of recruiting topics.
We granted them anonymity to gather their insights on NIL, the coaches they liked (and didn’t like) and what rules they would like to see changed.
Did you sign with the school that offered you the best NIL deal? If not, how much did you leave on the table to sign with where you ultimately decided to go?
• It wasn’t a big difference for me in terms of the total package. All the schools offered about $300,000 to $400,000 per year with the ability to earn 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.
How many calls a day did you get from reporters about your recruitment on average? Did you ever let someone else — a family or friend — do an interview for you because you didn’t want to deal with the media?
• Every time I got an offer, seven to eight different (media sites) who covered those teams reached out. My mom handled a few interviews with text messages if I was in school. But I tried to do them myself.
• Oh, it got so bad I got a new phone. I had a phone just for media. Just straight for that. I changed my number like two, three times. It got overwhelming. I was like, “I’m just gonna get a (new) phone.” It’s like 9 p.m., and you want an interview and I’m coming off a visit and I’m like, “Dang. I just got off the visit.” So I had a new phone for that and then it did get overwhelming. But then once I started building relationships with certain people in the media and in interviews and stuff — you guys are actually cool. Y’all are just asking questions. I’ve just got to get to know you.
• Usually two to three calls a day, and I always did the interviews.
• I did about four or five interviews a day and now I wish I would’ve thought about letting somebody else do it for me.
• I did 10 to 12 interviews a week, and I usually spread them out with two to three a day. My dad taught me that if you take an interview, you do it.
• I didn’t respond to all of them, but it was about six or seven calls/texts a day. In the beginning, I didn’t know how to do them. I had my coach do it. Then, my mom took over. She wasn’t happy with some of the things I was saying.
• It was close to nine or 10 texts/calls a day. I had to do all of them. I just couldn’t let anybody else do it. Didn’t feel right.
• I got between five to six calls/texts a day. It got so bad I started blocking calls. But the people who got through, I dealt with it myself.
• I got at least five a day, and I always handled the interviews.
• Do you really want that number? You want to know the highest (in one day)? Probably around 30. Like say if I would go on a visit or something like that, everybody would ask me, “How was it?” There would be a call before I even get there. There would be a call while I’m there, there would be a call while I’m leaving and there would be a call a couple days after.
Did you partake in any trolling of fan bases with comments on social media for your personal enjoyment?
• A little bit. I’d put out photos of myself at a school I wasn’t visiting just to see what people might say. There were times I’d put out like statements — like you’d do if you were decommitting — to scare people. You just need to have fun sometimes.
• I loved messing with fan bases. I did that to the school I almost signed with.
• I trolled people indirectly. Usually it was our rival. As far as adding followers, I added teams to my list at times and it worked.
• Yeah. I was trolling (a rival school), like posting stuff saying I was gonna commit there. I was just doing it for fun.
• Me and one of my high school teammates would send out certain hashtags and emojis to get fan bases from other teams on social media riled up. It was more about being bored and wanting to do something to see how people might react.
• A little bit. I did it to the fans of the school I was previously committed to just because I was tired of them. I’d ask them: “How was that flip for you?”
• 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.
• Every day. To get my followers up? Every day. Gosh. All the emojis, all the question marks, “Is this home?” I was getting all my committed friends to send me messages just so I could reply and be like, “Should I come here?” Follow me up. Follow me up. Follow me up.
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.
Who was the weirdest or most arrogant coach you met during the process and why?
• Probably (Colorado’s) Deion (Sanders). It’s all love though. He goes about it in his own unique way. It’s not arrogance — just cockiness.
• (Rutgers’ Greg Schiano) was too robotic.
• Nobody was really arrogant. (Clemson coach Dabo) Swinney isn’t stuck in his ways but doesn’t really want to change much.
• I’d say coach Saban. My mom wasn’t happy with him. We were at a table eating and he acknowledged me, but not my parents. My mom said, “If you’re acknowledging my son, you should acknowledge me.”
• I didn’t like (Nick) Saban. It was just the vibe.
• (Ex-Texas A&M coach) Jimbo Fisher. I watched him in practice. He yelled and cussed at guys too much.
• Fisher and Saban. Talking to Saban felt like talking to a robot. It didn’t feel real.
Which school do you think spent the most money on your visit and why?
• Penn State. I went on an unofficial visit, but it was like an official visit. They picked us up in a Mercedes-Benz truck, took us to the game and gave us a tour, food and the works.
• Michigan had these taco food trucks that were off the chain. I’ll never forget it.
• UCF took us everywhere. We went to a seafood restaurant, went to Topgolf. We did a lot of activities.
• UCLA. We went to dinner a couple times on visits. One time, it was Mother’s Day weekend. They did extra stuff for my mom. That was cool.
• Texas. We had a big recruiting weekend with a Lamborghini and Rolls-Royce out on the field. They took us to a good steak dinner right after.
• Cincinnati. I went to a private dinner after with the head coach.
• Georgia. They’d drive me everywhere and bring me food to my seat during games on my unofficial visits. I went there sometimes just for the free chicken.
• The food was pretty much the same everywhere. Everybody would feed you steak and lobster. Miami had the nicest accommodations, though. We stayed at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.
• I would probably say USC, really because it’s just really expensive out in Los Angeles so it’s going to be a lot of money just to get a certain spot or a reservation somewhere.
We heard recruits could make money just for taking an unofficial visit to a school. How many times did you take an unofficial visit just to collect some cash?
• I never accepted any cash.
• I mean there’s probably somewhere between 45 to 50 kids I know who did it. Usually it was around $6,000 to $7,000. You do an interview with this podcast, come down, we’ll pay for your room, your trip, etc.
• I don’t know anybody who did that.
• I don’t know what you’re talking about.
• I did it a couple times. It was less than $1,000 each time.
• I took like five or six unofficials. I didn’t get paid every time.
• I didn’t know you could do that. For real? I wish I would have — I would have been collecting. Oh my gah. I didn’t have that. I wish.
• Nah, not me. I didn’t. But I’m pretty sure it is going on. There’s some crazy stuff going on.
• I have heard that people are getting (paid), but I haven’t really heard of anybody or know anybody that has.
Could you sign with a school if the early signing period is moved up to the end of the summer? Or was there something you learned after summer visits that affected your decision?
• I was committed for 11 months before I signed, but I couldn’t have signed. Even though I was committed, there were still a lot of schools I needed to hear from and visit.
• I could have signed before my senior season.
• I needed to see what happened during my senior season.
• Quarterbacks probably could, but not anybody else.
• They need to keep it in December. There’s always a lot of decommits. Florida had a bunch because people aren’t sure if the head coach is going to be there long.
• I wouldn’t have signed early. You need to see it through to the end to see how much people are willing to offer you.
• I’m the type of guy who will just be like, “When I know, I know.” I don’t want to drag things out. I don’t need the attention. I’m just ready to play football. And then (if you signed earlier), you can get in the playbook early with your coaches. Can’t really do that if you sign later.
• I could’ve signed over the summer. I saw what I needed and knew what I was getting myself into. So, for me, I could’ve done it.
• I don’t think making a final decision in the summer is good. I committed early and felt good about it. But a lot of guys want to see how a team does before they commit or if a coach gets fired.
• I think I was ready. I was ready to get it over with and make it all official.
If you could fix one thing about the recruiting process what would it be and why?
• Coaches should be able to talk to you whenever they offer you in high school. Starting earlier is smarter.
• Having to pay to go anywhere for an official or unofficial. If you’re not within a two- to three-hour driving distance, expenses should always be covered.
• Less calling. Coaches call way too much. Let us be kids and enjoy life.
• Can’t take visits if you’re committed. If you’re locked in and want to take a trip, you can’t do it. That’s one thing I agree with Dabo Swinney about. Don’t lead a school on.
• For me, more money. Definitely more money. For all of recruiting, I would say let the coaches just text players earlier. There’s just random dead periods. That’d be the thing I’d change.
• Bring back the photo shoots. People need to have fun on their visits. I got my chance to do it. I took photos everywhere. But I know other guys that didn’t get a chance to.
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Why rules to rein in recruiting photo shoots are music to (most) coaches' ears
• I think everything is pretty good. Maybe, you can’t take visits if you’re committed. You have to decommit if you want to go visit elsewhere. But that’s just me. I believe in loyalty.
• I would probably say going to more games. Not necessarily in my area. I went to a lot of games in my area, but I would probably say more games around the country. But I really wasn’t trying to — that’s a lot. I wish I would have, though.
• Being able to be recruited before your junior year. It’s a dumb rule you can’t. I mean as soon as you enter high school that’s when things get real anyway.
• I’ll say this: I wish they could do the rankings based off what you do in an actual game, rather than what you do in a 7-on-7 tournament. At the end of the day, we’re playing football. So I think the best football player should be ranked the highest.
(Photo: Grace Raynor / The Athletic)
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