When the Name Image Likeness era muscled its way into collegiate sports over the past couple of years, the school of thought was this would simply legitimize paying players.
NIL refers to the rights of college athletes to control and profit from their name, image and likeness.
In the past, these rights were restricted by the NCAA. But policy changes allow athletes to monetize their personal brand and endorsements while participating in college sports.
That’s a fancy way of saying the dynamic long going on under the table was simply now on the table for all to see.
At first blush, many insisted NIL would lead directly to buying high school recruits to attend specific colleges, essentially favoring the highest bidder. Indeed, that happened — albeit to mixed results, particularly at Texas A&M and the University of Miami.
Among the issues with that concept is the residual impact in collegiate locker rooms.
A five-star recruit who held out for a high 6-figure, or even a 7-figure NIL deal to attend College A, entered a locker room where no one else at his position made anywhere near that kind of coin — including those starting in front of him.
Imagine being a position coach and managing a room where that concern permeates your group? Now your coaching responsibilities also include massaging egos while a payroll hierarchy is affecting your athletes, many of whom are teenagers.
It’s taken a couple of years for athletic departments, coaching staffs, and supporting collectives to get a handle on the NIL situation, and many are still struggling with it.
But a new dynamic emerged, one that really came into focus over the past couple of years at Michigan.
While Ohio State continues to rack up top 5 high school recruiting classes, the Wolverines made efficient use of the transfer portal.
Michigan’s philosophy is simple: Utilize NIL cash to attract the nation’s top Power 5 transfers, particularly in the trenches.
In 2021, Jim Harbaugh’s staff brought in Jordan Whittley (Oregon State) to join the defensive line.
In 2022, Olusegun Oluwatimi won the Rimington and Outland Trophy at center for the Wolverines after transferring in from Virginia. Defensive lineman Cam Goode was brought in from Central Florida.
In 2023, Myles Hinton and Drake Nugent arrived from Stanford, along with Arizona State’s LaDarius Henderson, all to enhance the offensive line.
The results have been incredible.
Michigan, second fiddle in the Big Ten to Ohio State for 20 years, has won three consecutive conference championships and this year’s national title, their first outright crown since 1948.
The Wolverines have done it behind grueling line play that imposes its will as a game unfolds.
Harbaugh has dominated Ohio State, too, turning the rivalry dramatically, despite the Buckeyes’ consistent advantage at the skill positions.
In 2021 Michigan pounded C.J. Stroud and Co. 42-27, without facing a third down in the entire second half.
In 2022, the Wolverines rolled over Ryan Day’s club in Columbus, 45-23, outscoring the Buckeyes 28-3 in the second half.
In 2023, UM again beat Ohio State 30-24, scoring on 6 of its last 7 possessions.
That philosophy of allocating NIL resources to a proven commodity (while maintaining a strong recruiting presence) seems to have especially taken hold at Ohio State since the dawn of January.
Players with eligibility remaining, who in past years were anxious to fly the coop if they had any chance of being drafted, have discovered there’s a more lucrative option on campus.
Returning to school makes sense (and cents) on multiple fronts.
— NIL cash may mean more money than a later round NFL draft pick can earn.
— The college player also has no risk of being cut. Indeed, the redshirt rule in college football can serve as a safety net if injury strikes.
— Finally, the athlete can improve his future draft stock with one more big year at the college level.
From the school’s perspective, as Michigan has proven, it makes more sense to spend on someone (if you want them to return) who has already proven he’s good enough to start, than to pay big bucks to an unproven high school recruit who can upset or trigger unwanted drama on the current roster.
Hence, the 2024 Buckeyes will be a roster filled with proven players.
Defensive ends J.T. Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer bypassed the NFL Draft to return for their respective senior seasons. They join cornerback Denzel Burke, receiver Emeka Egbuka, defensive tackle Tyleik Williams and offensive guard Donovan Jackson as players who normally would’ve jumped to the NFL draft.
In addition, OSU has tapped significantly into the transfer portal, a la Michigan.
Kansas State transfer Will Howard will take the quarterback reins as a one-year rental next season after backups Devin Brown and Lincoln Kienholz proved to be woefully inadequate in an embarrassing Cotton Bowl performance against Missouri.
Ole Miss junior-to-be Quinshon Judkins gained 2,700 yards and scored 31 TDs in his first two years of college football, and was considered the nation’s top running back in the portal. He’ll arrive in Columbus to pair with the dangerous but perpetually injured TreVeyon Henderson, who also pondered an NFL leap after an uneven junior campaign.
Finally, Alabama’s two-year starting center Seth McLaughlin cast his lot with the Buckeyes. Coach Nick Saban’s retirement is less than a week old, so the buzzards are circling the Crimson Tide’s roster, and the transfer news may not yet be over in Tuscaloosa, or Columbus.
Make no mistake, the Buckeyes haven’t forgotten the necessity of recruiting high school studs.
According to the 247 composite rankings, Ohio State has the nation’s fifth-best 2024 recruiting class. Five members of that class earned five-star ratings by the composite rankings.
There’s no doubt that Fairburn, Georgia QB Air Noland, Springfield cornerback Aaron Scott, Buford, Georgia defensive lineman Eddrick Houston, New Haven, Indiana wideout Mylan Graham, and Opa Locka, Florida receiver Jeremiah Smith (the No. 1 overall player in the class), pocketed enough NIL cash to keep rival schools at bay.
It’s just that the NIL scales may now be tipping more toward worthy veteran college players than was the case in the beginning of this new era.
That’s probably where the focus should’ve been all along.