UTSA Coach Traylor on Lack of NIL: "Not Always Greener"

University of Texas at San Antonio coach Jeff Traylor knows the tough NIL world

The transfer portal is officially open and with that, players have already started to enter at a rapid rate to explore their options in the "free agency" market. 

As Washington State head coach Jake Dickert (and others) said, smaller schools just don't have the NIL resources or funds to compete with big programs, which drastically challenges their recruiting efforts.

But, UTSA head coach Jeff Traylor, whose team finished the year with an 8-4 record, knows that his program doesn't have the NIL resources to chase big players. 

But, he used one player as a perfect example of why it isn't always "greener" on the other side: 

"We do have people already tampering with our kids...If they want to go try it out, we have a great example of what happened with Zakhari...The grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence. I know our guys are very grateful with how we treat them. They know our NIL money is not what these guys are offering them...We've at least made it where our kids can maybe go get a car, some insurance, and a cell phone, and make their lives a little better." 

UTSA Head Coach Jeff Traylor talks transfer portal and NIL pic.twitter.com/eJ5imsFiSF

— JJ Perez (@theJJPerez) December 3, 2023

Jeff Traylor is aware that UTSA doesn't have the NIL funds to offer such as other programs, and he used wide receiver Zakhari Franklin as a perfect example. Franklin had back-to-back 1,000-yard receiving seasons with the Roadrunners and then transferred to Ole Miss. 

But, in 2023 with the Rebels, he had just four catches for 38 yards and a touchdown. Furthermore, the last catch of the season was on October 21, so Franklin's decision to transfer and chase the NIL funds might not have been the best choice. 

Traylor was also in the mix for the Houston Cougars job before they decided to hire Tulane head coach Willie Fritz.