Inside The Knights

NIL and CFB Recruiting, Heading for a Collision with NCAA Violations and the Court of Law - Part I

Looking at the big picture of how college football has now engulfed NIL into the world of recruiting.

Brian Smith

In this story:

As a recruiting fan, it would be hard to not have witnessed some of the drama during the Dec. 15, 2022 National Signing Day festivities. In particular, the No. 1 ranked recruit by SI All-American, Travis Hunter, went back on his original commitment to Florida State, and then instead signed with Jackson State, a Historically Black College or University (HBCU) in Jackson, Miss.

A tradition-rich program like Florida State lost the top recruit in the land, to an HBCU? Really?

Yes, really.

That same school is of course coached by none other than Deion Sanders, one of the most extravagant personalities in the history of college football and the NFL, as well as one of the greatest players to ever don a football helmet. Hunter’s signing, shall we say, has raised some eyebrows?

Depending on whom one may believe, Hunter was awarded an NIL deal worth any place from 1.5 to 3 million dollars. Rumors vary, and so do the rules, or at least the rules different people respect and adhere to, for recruiting superstar football players like Hunter.

Of course signing with one school over another because of a financial incentive is a NCAA no-no. More on that further below. For now, let’s focus on the top prep football player in the land.

So who is Hunter?

To be clear, Hunter is a special, special talent. Having the chance to watch him play live will dispel any questions about what he’s capable of doing. Seeing him on a television screen is one thing, standing behind him from five or ten feet away at a seven-on-seven tournament is quite another.

He’s the twitchiest athlete this scout has seen since “The Answer” played at the Nike Tournament in 1992. That same tournament was held each summer in Indianapolis, Ind. at the old Hoosier Dome and packed with elite players that eventually went on to professional basketball careers.

A certain 5’11” point guard ate everyone alive during that particular year.

The player Hunter is being compared to and who dominated in the Hoosier Dome would of course be Allen Iverson, once an elite prep football player himself before sticking solely with basketball and becoming an international icon and NBA legend.

To be compared to Iverson is rare, and it’s legit. While there may only be one Iverson, give Hunter his due. Hunter truly possesses the level of side-to-side quickness needed to be compared to Iverson. 

Is his athleticism worth millions in NIL money? Again, that depends on whom one believes.

With that in mind, this article is not about debating Hunter’s talent, but why his talent will head to Mississippi and not the Panhandle of Florida.

What Type of Issue Can a NIL Deal Bring a Recruit or Person Involved?

Note that any form of inducement via money, car, housing, job for a parent, etc. is considered a direct NCAA recruiting violation in an effort to sign a recruit over another institution.

A school caught doing such acts, or any person or entity acting on a school’s behalf, can lead to scholarship restrictions, bowl bans, loss of revenue, coaches being eliminated from off-campus recruiting, and a reduction in the number of official visits, among other penalties.

With all of the above penalties in mind, the primary question here would be the following:

Prior to National Signing Day, did Hunter receive knowledge that he would receive money and/or other gifts via NIL so that he would sign with Jackson State and not Florida State?

If yes, that’s flat out a NCAA recruiting violation. Yes, NIL is legal in America. That’s not the question. The question is where a recruit signs as a result of a NIL deal being struck prior to that same recruit selecting a college, thus an inducement, incentive, etc, and thus a NCAA recruiting violation.

With that, a few questions and points about the world that college football has now found itself in because of NIL, fair or not.

Who’s Potentially Involved?

It was a matter of time before NIL impacted recruiting. It’s just that when seven-figure numbers are thrown around, it attracts even more attention.

Further, there’s the traditional fly in the ointment, and that would be Title IX legislation, which has changed the NCAA several times since the 1970s. Without going into a full-on description of Title IX’s vastness, just note that Title IX lawyers are undoubtedly ready and waiting.

There’s zero chance they are not going to sue the pants off the NCAA and/or its member institutions, or anyone else (recruits included) by way of saying that their clients are not being fairly treated once they find a loophole to do so (if they have not already).

It’s not if, but when, those lawsuits begin. Further, many of them may never be public because they are settled out of court and never reach the newspapers or any online entity. That only muddies the waters even more for all parties involved.

Next, of course there are boosters. Oh, the Title IX lawyers will be quite interested in them. So too will the IRS (recruits need to think about the IRS, too).

That’s a three-letter acronym that’s not friendly when the exchanging of goods and monies is not fully pronounced in a timely and accurate manner. The following four-letter acronym could be a hindrance as well.

The NCAA. Well, the NCAA Infractions Committee.

Then there are coaches at the high school and college level, agents (sometimes called “runners”) that look to hook up recruits with deals and take some off the top for themselves.

In short, this list is practically never ending. To that end, for this article, let’s stick with two primary points. One, NCAA Infractions, and two, lawyers becoming directly involved via Title IX.

NCAA Violations, Programs that Cheat Usually Win

Cheating has been valued in recruiting for as long as the NCAA has been around. The old saying that cheaters never win is complete garbage. It’s quite the opposite.

Recruits go to schools that pay. See SMU in the 1970s and 1980s, same with Oklahoma during the same time, and there’s Miami from the 1980s and 1990s, and Southern California with Reggie Bush, just to name a handful of programs that were on top during those periods of time.

That’s not really all that different in today’s world either.

Among recruiting analysts along the recruiting trail, many often just laugh in disbelief about how much money recruits receive to sign with school “X” over another school. It’s just crazy money. 100,000 is common just for a signature of a top-notch cornerback or pass rusher.

That’s just one of many examples, but the above audio is public. Do note, that’s a conversation that takes place in many forms in today’s college football recruiting world, and now NIL makes cheating more difficult to follow.

Look for Part II on Friday, Dec. 17.

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Brian Smith
BRIAN SMITH

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