1. The latest actual numbers I can find…per 247 sports, U of L was 20th in NIL monies in college sports at about 450 million. Now we are approaching 2026 and things obviously have changed, but we were at least trying to play the NIL game.

2. Jeff did not leave Purdue the first time because the timing wasn’t right or he still had a job to do with the Boilermakers. I respected Jeff for that and quite frankly made me feel more proud of who he was as a person .

I could be naive and stupid but:

A. This crazy money by rich people to pay athletes is just that, crazy and not sustainable long term.

B. U of L is probably doing the best it can but can not compete against oil monies etc.

C. Love him or not, (I love Jeff as our coach) he is the best we could have and feel safe he wants to stay. (Is this a dumb statement given the leaving fears?)

D. Let’s keep winning at Jeff’s level or better

Four Missouri football staff members, including the lead executive of the Tigers’ NIL agency, are leaving MU to follow former offensive coordinator Kirby Moore to Washington State. 

Brad Larrondo, who was the CEO and general manager of Every True Tiger Brands, is moving to take a role at WSU. He is a Boise State grad and still has significant connections to the region.

The Tigers also are set to lose tight ends coach Derham Cato to the same role with the Cougars, and Mizzou assistant offensive line coach Jack Abercrombie is set to become Moore’s lead O-line coach. Those staff changes were first reported by Matt Zenitz at CBS Sports.

By JOE REEDY, AP Sports Writer

Matt Patricia is used to postseason runs from his days as the defensive coordinator of the New England Patriots.

However, Patricia acknowledges that the preparation for the College Football Playoff is different than the NFL. Patricia is in his first season as Ohio State’s defensive coordinator as the second-seeded Buckeyes (12-1) get ready to face 10th-seeded Miami (11-2) in a CFP quarterfinal at the Cotton Bowl on Dec. 31.

“It’s a learning (process) for me. We’d have bye-week kind of moments in the NFL, but this is a really long layover and break,” Patricia said. “Right now, I’m trying to trust the expertise in the building. Some of the things we did transfer, you know, because we have some different kind of scheduling and when everybody is in school and that stuff.”

Ohio State was off for two weeks after its 13-10 loss to Indiana in the Big Ten championship game on Dec. 6. Players were mostly occupied with final exams while waiting to see who they would face in the Cotton Bowl.

With the Buckeyes going for consecutive national championships for the first time in school history, Patricia’s first season in Columbus has exceeded expectations. He was hired after Jim Knowles left for Penn State, tasked with leading a unit that returned only three starters, none on the defensive line.

Patricia and Ohio State made an emphatic opening statement in their Aug. 30 14-7 victory over Texas and continued the momentum throughout the season.

The Buckeyes are ranked either first or second nationally in nine different categories. They lead the nation in scoring defense (8.2 points per game), passing yards (129.1), red zone scores (66.7%) and fewest plays of 10 or more yards (90).

Ohio State had three AP All-America first-team selections on the defense — defensive tackle Kayden McDonald, linebacker Arvell Reese and safety Caleb Downs. All three plus linebacker Sonny Styles are projected to be first-round picks in April’s NFL draft.

Patricia, who returned to coaching in college for the first time since 2002, is a finalist for the Broyles Award, which is given to the top assistant coach in college football.

“The players have done an unbelievable job. Again, give them all the credit. I think they’ve played so hard and aggressive and flying around on the field. And it is a lot of fun. I tell them all the time, it’s such a privilege to be up there in front of the group and talk to the group,” Patricia said. “And just for me, personally, it has been so much fun to come back to college and have that little bit of a youthful energy with the players that we have here and their excitement to go out and play.”

When Patricia was hired, many lauded his ability to adjust his personnel by running multiple fronts and coverages. He also has shown the ability to relate to players.

“When he first stepped on campus here, it was like a long-lost family member that just came back from whatever he came from, but he came back home,” defensive end Kenyatta Jackson said. “And I mean, all the guys love him. Even offensive guys. He don’t just talk to the starters or whatever the case may be, but he talks to everybody. And I think that’s why everybody loves him.”

One person who hasn’t been surprised with Patricia’s success is the guy who hired him.

“His background speaks for itself and putting guys into a situation to be successful. And every player just wants someone that’s going to be there to get them better but also wants someone to care about them. He’s done both of those things,” coach Ryan Day said. “It’s great to have somebody in the building who has been through some of the games he’s been through, the Super Bowls and a lot of playoff games, so there’s a confidence level the guys have in him. So, I think all of that adds up to what you’re seeing.”

___

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If I were given $25 million to build the 105-man Arkansas football roster, how would I do it? All schools on the Power Four level have $22.5 million allotted for revenue sharing across all sports. SEC programs have pledged to donate $2.5 million of that to scholarships. For most schools, football is expected to receive approximately 75% of the remaining balance.

That comes out to $13.5 million in revenue sharing for football. That means we need to raise an additional $11.5 million in NIL to get to $25 million, which is probably the amount of money a program would need to be considered to be in the upper-half of NIL among SEC programs. And that’s an educated guess. Arkansas is likely working somewhere between $20 million and $25 million, I would assume.

That’s probably what it takes to bump someone out among programs like Georgia, Alabama, Texas, Texas A&M, Florida, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Auburn and Ole Miss. Let’s suppose the breakdown below is for Arkansas. It has always been said Arkansas must do more with less. I’ve got a formula that should stretch that $25 million in Monopoly Money I’m playing with today…

Welcome to the Morning Commute

Today we are talking about Mizzou Football!

In case you missed it, Mizzou defensive end Damon Wilson II got sued by Georgia in regards to breached agreement by transferring and owes $390,000, the unpaid portion of the deal, under a liquidated damages clause.

The Missouri defensive end challenges whether or not that agreement was ever legally binding.

Wilson is suing for defamation after spokesman Steven Drummond told ESPN that Georgia “expects student athletes to honor commitments.” The complaint alleges the comment damaged Wilson’s character by falsely implying he breached a contract.

This is definitely an ongoing subject so the best way to stay updated is the Rock M+ forums!

Yesterday at Rock M and Rock M+

Let’s shift our focus to Mizzou Football as Missouri plays in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl vs Virginia on Saturday night. For the final time this season, it’s game week.

Hey… Missouri Football is playing! Should be an exciting matchup to wrap up Christmas festivities!

MU has seen its three-point field goal percentage drop from 45 percent to 31 percent since Stone, who shot 41.7 percent from beyond the arc in his six games this season, left the rotation. Gates used the analogy of his team as a puzzle in the postgame press conference, pointing to Pierce and Stone as key (missing) pieces.

Key players missing leads to major impact. Mizzou needs to get healthy if it wants a chance to compete in the SEC.

From Rock M Radio: Dive Cuts

In this episode, what turned into a slaughter fest of the Braggin’ Rights matchup is previewed. More to come soon on Rock M Radio!

If you like Rock M Radio drop us a Review and be sure to subscribe on your preferred podcasting platform. Follow @RockMRadio on Twitter and if you haven’t already head over to our YouTube channel and click that subscribe button!

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ATHENS — Collectively, the Georgia football program is focused on its Sugar Bowl showdown with Ole Miss that’s rapidly approaching.

But behind the scenes next season’s roster is being determined, as Kirby Smart has met with players about their football futures.

Smart — arguably the master of modern-day roster management with the most NFL draft picks (46) and national titles (2) in college football the previous four years — has held private meetings with players about their football futures.

It’s fair to say retention, as much as recruiting, has been key to the Bulldogs’ championship runs going back to Jordan Davis and Devonte Wyatt deciding together to return for the 2021 season.

Georgia, with 54% of its roster made up of first- or second-year players, figures to have several key contributors returning to a team Smart has enjoyed coaching this season.

“A couple of them just told me they want to go back and practice tonight, they said they want to get out there tonight and get on a Bloody Tuesday when we get back home,” Smart said in his postgame on-field interview after the 28-7 SEC title game win over Alabama.

“That’s the kind of mentality this team has — they want to practice some more, they want to practice some more, they love contact, and we love them.”

Settling up

If there is a silver lining to Georgia missing out on 2026 quarterback recruit Jared Curtis — whose signing would have cost in excess of $700,000 — it’s that Smart has more funds to spread around on returning players.

The Bulldogs, like many other programs, front-loaded investing in the 2025 class with the settlement of the landmark House vs. NCAA case pending, as it brought about a $20.5 million cap that schools could directly pay student-athletes for usage of their Name, Image and Likeness.

Smart noted the challenge some of the front-loaded deals would bring when discussing last year’s signing classes.

“ … What’s going to happen when those people expect that same money the next year and it’s not there because you’re in a cap?” Smart said last April. “There’s going to be a correction eventually, and I don’t think any of us know what’s going to happen.”

What has happened is that Georgia, like other schools, is working to help secure NIL deals for student-athletes that meet the standard for approval required by the College Sports Commission’s “NIL Go” platform.

“We can now help our athletes really serve as a marketing agency to go out and source opportunities, whether it’s corporate opportunities, whether it’s local opportunities, whether it’s social media opportunities,” Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork said on Front Office Sports Today. “That’s going to be the next race.”

Per ESPN, more than 8,300 NIL deals worth approximately $80 million were approved between June 11 and Aug. 31 alone.

Keeping the culture

Name Image and Likeness deals, though not intended to be an incentive for recruiting talent or inducing transfers, certainly have had an effect.

But in a college football world dominated by high-profile transfers — including seven of the 10 Heisman Trophy finalists — Smart’s program continues to feature a culture built from within.

Indeed, the difference between Georgia and Ole Miss — its CFP Sugar Bowl quarterfinal opponent (8 p.m. Jan. 1) — is no less than stunning.

UGA recruits have made 90% of the starts for the Bulldogs this season, while nearly two-thirds (66.3%) of the starts made in the Rebels’ program have been made by transfers.

Perhaps it’s fitting that Lane Kiffin, the architect of the Ole Miss roster, has himself transferred in the sense of leaving his team for what’s perceived to be a better job as LSU’s head coach.

Building blocks

Indiana and Texas Tech — the next two most transfer-heavy teams in the 12-team College Football Playoff — took different approaches to free agency.

Hoosiers coach Curt Cignetti has brought 13 transfers with him from his previous job as James Madison head coach, effectively replanting a team culture in Bloomington, Indiana.

Cignetti, like Kiffin a former Nick Saban assistant, was not like Kiffin when it came to cashing in on his success in pursuit of a better job, even while his name was among the hottest for the most high-profile jobs.

Cignetti, whose most recent portal haul included 23 players (including Heisman Trophy-winner Fernando Mendoza and veteran Notre Dame starting center Pat Coogan), re-signed an 8-year contract with Indiana that will pay him $11.6 million annually — this, after more than doubling his salary at Indiana with an extension worth more than $8 million annually signed the year before.

Texas Tech, meanwhile, has a roster reportedly worth some $25 million reportedly funded by prominent Texas Tech booster and billionaire oilman Cody Campbell, a former Red Raiders offensive lineman (2001-04).

Campbell, who founded the Double Eagle Energy oil and gas company, leads the school’s “Matador Club” NIL collective and he is the school’s Chairman of the Board of Regents.

The Red Raiders brought in seven of the top 75 players in ESPN’s transfer rankings.

It’s worth noting five of the top 10 ESPN transfers helped lead their respective new programs into the 12-team College Football Playoff:

• John Mateer (Oklahoma, ranked No. 1)

• Carson Beck (Miami, ranked No. 2)

• Fernando Mendoza (Indiana, ranked No. 5)

• Makhi Hughes (Oregon, ranked No. 7)

• Zachariah Branch (Georgia, ranked No. 10).

The Red Raiders will next face Oregon in the CFP Orange Bowl quarterfinal at noon on Jan. 1.

The Ducks’ roster is widely believed to benefit from the school’s well-known association with Nike co-founder and billionaire booster Phil Knight.

Smart said at the 2024 SEC Media Days: “(I) wish I could get some of that NIL money (Knight is) sharing with Dan Lanning.”

Campaigning for dollars

Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham openly campaigned on Saturday for $20 million in NIL money from someone — anyone — in the Phoenix community.

“We need to find one of these really rich people in this city to step up and stroke a check,” said Dillingham, whose Sun Devils missed making this year’s CFP field after winning the Big 12 last season.

“We live in Phoenix, Arizona. You’re telling me there’s not one person who could stroke a $20 million check right now? There is somebody out there who can.”

The funding required to compete for championships doesn’t stop with NIL dollars.

Per a recent story in “The Athletic,” this year’s College Football Playoff field reflected the four schools with the highest football budgets — not all calculated the same, the story notes — each made the field.

Total expenses submitted by the schools for 2023-24:

• Alabama: $112.2 million

• Texas A&M: $82.2 million

• Ohio State: $78.6 million

• Miami: $78.1 million

• Georgia: $68.9 million

• Oklahoma: $65.8 million

• Indiana: $61.3 million

• Ole Miss: $57.1 million

• Oregon: $53.9 million

• Texas Tech: $34.3 million

• James Madison: $15.9 million

• Tulane: $13 million

At Georgia, Smart works closely with athletics director Josh Brooks to stay within the proposed budget, while maintaining the necessary relationships with players, eschewing the trend of hiring a general manager.

“It’s still a relationship business for us,” Smart said last spring. “We find our niche in our culture, which is relational, and trying to have a relationship with somebody.”