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College football recruiting thoughts: Oregon’s setbacks, USC’s surge, Washington’s in-state push

One of the biggest names in the 2026 recruiting cycle is off the board after Jared Curtis announced his commitment to Georgia over Oregon on Monday. While the five-star quarterback’s decision certainly warranted all the attention it received — we’ll get into that soon — there are plenty of recruiting storylines popping up as we […]

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One of the biggest names in the 2026 recruiting cycle is off the board after Jared Curtis announced his commitment to Georgia over Oregon on Monday. While the five-star quarterback’s decision certainly warranted all the attention it received — we’ll get into that soon — there are plenty of recruiting storylines popping up as we approach the busy summer months.

What’s next for Oregon?

To contextualize how well it’s gone for Oregon on the recruiting trail over the past few years, consider this: One of the Ducks’ biggest setbacks under Dan Lanning occurred when five-star quarterback Dante Moore flipped to UCLA during the early signing period in December 2022.

That’s the same Moore who left the Bruins after one season and is expected to start for the Ducks this fall.

Oregon took Curtis’ recruitment down to the wire. Curtis, who plays for Nashville (Tenn.) Christian School, is the No. 1 quarterback and the No. 2 overall player in the 2026 class, according to the 247Sports Composite. He was committed to Georgia for seven months in 2024 before reopening his recruitment, which cleared the path for the Ducks to make a push that ultimately fell short.

Lanning has signed top-10 classes in each of the past three cycles, and his last two classes have finished in the top five. He’s raised the Ducks’ recruiting profile since he took over. (And yes, comments section, we know: NIL, NIL, NIL.)

But we’re not used to seeing Oregon take as many blows on the trail as they have over the past couple of months. The Ducks have been on the wrong end of some high-profile flips to West Coast rivals — five-star offensive lineman Kodi Greene to Washington and a pair of four-star prospects, quarterback Jonas Williams and defensive lineman Tomuhini Topui, to USC. They also lost recent battles for four-star defensive lineman Derek Colman-Brusa (Washington) and four-star wide receiver Kayden Dixon-Wyatt (Ohio State). Now, add Curtis to the mix.

When Moore flipped to UCLA in late 2022, Lanning countered with an impressive flurry to close the early signing period, showing the rest of the nation what to expect from him and the Ducks moving forward.

There shouldn’t be a ton of concern about Oregon’s recruiting over the long term. The Ducks’ average player rating for their seven commitments in the 2026 class sits at 92.80 (fourth nationally). It would surprise no one if they ended up with five-star quarterback Ryder Lyons. But it’ll be interesting to see how Lanning and his staff respond over the next few months.

USC continues to beef up its class

The Trojans hold the top spot in the national rankings and continued their impressive run by landing several blue-chip commitments last week. The highest-rated player of the group was four-star corner Elbert Hill, an Ohio native who is a top-50 prospect nationally. USC also landed Luc Weaver, a four-star wide receiver from Southern California.

But the most significant pledge might have come from four-star IMG (Fla.) Academy offensive lineman Keenyi Pepe, the younger brother of current USC defensive lineman Kobe Pepe. USC has struggled to attract elite offensive line talent for several years. It’s one of the glaring areas where the program has to improve to contend nationally.

The Trojans have a whopping 27 commitments in their 2026 class, which is 12 more than the next closest programs (Penn State and Syracuse). That’s a big reason why they’re sitting atop the team rankings, but their class also has star power, with eight top-100 prospects. And 15 of the 27 commitments come from the state of California, which will please USC fans after the recent in-state struggles under Lincoln Riley.

Ole Miss makes some noise

From a roster-building standpoint, the Rebels have become known more for their work in the transfer portal than the recruiting trail under Lane Kiffin. But Ole Miss received pledges from two top-150 prospects over the past week.

The Rebels flipped four-star linebacker Izayia Williams of Tavares (Fla.) High, the nation’s No. 51 prospect, from Florida. They also landed a commitment from four-star running back Damarius Yates, a Mississippi native who ranks No. 7 in the state and No. 125 nationally. They instantly became the two highest-rated players in Ole Miss’ class.

Yates is part of a particularly strong recruiting cycle in Mississippi, which is home to 15 blue-chip prospects this year. That’s the most since the 2019 cycle produced 17 blue-chippers. We’ll see if Ole Miss can take advantage.

Washington keeps top talent in state

Washington hired Jedd Fisch on Jan. 14, 2024. That was a less-than-ideal start date for a coach in the 2025 recruiting cycle. But Fisch made it work, and the Huskies finished with a top-25 recruiting class.

The ceiling for Washington’s 2026 class is potentially even higher. Flipping Greene, the No. 22 overall player in the class, from Oregon was a massive triumph.

Fisch built the trenches up well at Arizona, and it’s clear he’s emphasizing that area with the Huskies. In addition to flipping Greene, Washington beat out Oregon and several other brand-name programs for four-star in-state defensive lineman Colman-Brusa.

Fisch is also prioritizing keeping top in-state talent at home. Greene plays for Mater Dei in Santa Ana, Calif., so he’s listed as a California prospect, but he’s a Washington native and his older brother, Kayden, plays safety for the Huskies. Colman-Brusa is the top-rated player in Washington (No. 161 nationally), and his brother, Lowen, signed with Washington as part of the 2025 class.

This is Fisch’s second recruiting cycle with the Huskies, and it’s the second time he’s landed the No. 1 in-state prospect (Zaydrius Rainey-Sale in 2025 was the other).

Washington’s 2026 class currently ranks 18th nationally.

Vanderbilt makes a splash

It’s not too often Vanderbilt is involved with one of the best prospects in the country. Four-star corner Caden Harris, who plays for Haywood High School in Brownsville, Tenn., has proven to be an exception.

Harris, ranked No. 82 nationally, committed to the Commodores in late April over Notre Dame, Georgia and other Power 4 programs. Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea has not signed a top-150 prospect since he took over as head coach in December 2020.

That’s not a surprise. Vanderbilt is known more for its academics than its recruiting prowess. But Lea is coming off a breakthrough season with quarterback Diego Pavia and the program’s first bowl victory since the 2013 season.

That on-field momentum carried over with Harris’ recruitment. If he remains in the fold, he would be Vanderbilt’s highest-rated signee in modern recruiting history (dating back to 2002).

Around the country

Ohio State: Brian Hartline is keeping the Buckeyes stocked with high-end wide receiver talent. On Sunday, Dixon-Wyatt committed to Ohio State over Oregon and others. Dixon-Wyatt is the No. 107 overall player in the class and is a Mater Dei teammate of fellow Buckeyes receiver commit Chris Henry Jr., a five-star prospect. Ohio State has four blue-chip receivers in its 2026 class.

Notre Dame: The Fighting Irish, No. 2 in the team rankings, bolstered their class with two four-star pledges recently — running back Javian Osborne (No. 90 nationally) and linebacker Jakobe Clapper (No. 399). Notre Dame’s class includes 14 commitments and has an average player rating of 92.14, which, if it holds, would be the highest in Marcus Freeman’s time as head coach.

Georgia: A few days before Curtis’ commitment, the Bulldogs landed four-star in-state offensive lineman Graham Houston, who ranked No. 298 nationally. Georgia has eight commitments and ranks No. 17 nationally.

LSU: The Tigers went into Southern California and came away with a commitment from four-star corner and top-100 prospect Havon Finney, who plays for Sierra Canyon in Chatsworth. Finney is one of six top-100 prospects in LSU’s class, which ranks No. 6 nationally.

(Photo of Dan Lanning: Soobum Im / Getty Images)





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Texas Tech hoping big money and top transfers lead to unprecedented payback in football

FRISCO, Texas — Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire had already completed his portion of Big 12 football media days when Colorado’s Deion Sanders was asked if he has been paying attention to what the Red Raiders did in the transfer portal. The gist of that question was really about all the money for Texas Tech […]

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FRISCO, Texas — Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire had already completed his portion of Big 12 football media days when Colorado’s Deion Sanders was asked if he has been paying attention to what the Red Raiders did in the transfer portal.

The gist of that question was really about all the money for Texas Tech athletes, which is widely reported to be around $55 million for the upcoming school year. A significant chunk of that is expected to go toward the transformation of a football program that has never won a Big 12 title or even had a 10-win season since 2008, six years before three-time Super Bowl champion quarterback Patrick Mahomes played his first game for the Red Raiders.

“Yeah, Joey got some money. Joey, where you at, baby? Spending that money, I love it,” Sanders said emphatically about the fellow Big 12 coach he calls a friend, and who coached two of his three sons in high school. “I love you, man. I appreciate you. Can you send a few of those dollars to us so we can get some of those players too?”

The reported dollar figures are staggering, even in these early days of schools being able to pay athletes directly. That total supposedly includes the maximum $20.5 million of revenue each school can share with players under the NCAA’s landmark House settlement that took effect this month, meaning the rest would come through name, image and likeness deals.

Red Raiders spending big

Last fall, Texas Tech said it was budgeting $14.7 million for the fiscal year — about $9 million more than the previous year — in support for the athletic program, which had a budget of nearly $129 million. The headlines started to come soon after.

Tech’s softball team had never won a Big 12 regular-season or tournament championship before standout pitcher NiJaree Canady arrived last year in Lubbock with a NIL deal that made her the first $1 million softball player.

With Canady, who had been to the previous two Women’s College World Series with Stanford, the Red Raiders won both of those league titles and got all the way to the final game of this year’s WCWS before losing to rival Texas.

Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire speaks during Big 12...

Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire speaks during Big 12 NCAA college football media days in Frisco, Texas, Tuesday, July 8, 2025. Credit: AP

Canady has already signed a similar NIL deal for next season. Tech also added three top transfers: Florida second baseman Mia Williams; two-time 20-game winner Kaitlyn Terry from UCLA; and Missouri Valley Conference player of the year Jackie Lis, an infielder from Southern Illinois.

Along with all the money spent on players, Texas Tech this spring unveiled a $240 million football complex at Jones AT&T Stadium, where Cody Campbell Field is named after the former offensive lineman who made a $25 million donation to the project.

Campbell’s financial impact on the program goes well beyond that. He is chairman of the school’s Board of Regents, a billionaire who with his oil and gas partner John Sellers co-founded The Matador Club, the school’s NIL collective that is now under the umbrella of the athletic department’s Red Raider Club. Sellers and Campbell earlier this year sold some subsidies of an oil and natural gas company for about $4 billion.

Last week, Campbell announced the launch of a nonprofit called Saving College Sports to help solve a “crisis” as the industry “faces an existential turning point as legal, governance and economic challenges threaten” hundreds of thousands of athletes, fandom and the economies of campus communities.

Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez (10) during an NCAA football...

Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez (10) during an NCAA football game against Arizona, on Oct. 5, 2024, in Tucson, Ariz. Credit: AP

On the gridiron

The Texas Tech men’s basketball program has four Sweet 16 appearances since 2018, including a run to the national title game in 2019. But the big moneymaker for all programs is football and the Red Raiders will find out this fall if a big financial commitment to those players will get them into the 12-team College Football Playoff.

Texas Tech brought in 22 football transfers in what many consider a top national portal class. Most are highly touted players, with about half expected to be starters and most of the others impact players on a team already with several key returners after going 8-5 last year in McGuire’s third season.

“Yeah, it’s been a fun offseason,” McGuire said before Sanders took the podium. “We were really aggressive whenever it came to the portal and meeting some of our needs for the football team. … I think this conference is really strong. There’s a lot of teams that have some big opportunities this year to really make a statement, and we’re planning on being one of them.”

With the amount of money involved, some front-loaded NIL deals before the House settlement with new guidelines went into effect, it will certainly be a huge and expensive disappointment if they are not.

“I understand how important this year is,” McGuire said. “We’ve got to have a lot of things go right, but everybody does. You’ve got to keep your quarterback healthy. You’ve got to play at a high level. I know there’s a lot of expectations. My job that I’m going to really try to do is keep the pressure on me and the coaches.”

Tech returns senior quarterback Behren Morton, who threw for 2,976 yards and 25 touchdowns last season, and senior linebacker Jacob Rodriguez, the league’s top tackler with 126 last year. Rodriguez is the preseason Big 12 defensive player of the year, and on the league’s preseason team with a pair of four-star transfers: edge rusher David Bailey (Stanford) and defensive lineman Lee Hunter (UCF).

“It’s unbelievable, those guys came in and bought in to what we were talking about,” Rodriguez said. “I love those guys to death already and I think they’re going to make my job a lot easier, especially with the guys we have up front.”

It will also be up to McGuire to deal with paid players, some making significantly more than others on the roster.

“I think that goes into your culture,” the former Texas high school coach said. “It’s real. It’s real money. Guys are making different amounts of money in the locker room.

“One thing that you better understand if you dream to play in the NFL, your contract’s not going to be the same as the guy next to you, and if that’s what you focus on, then you’re going to spend a lot of time wasting a lot of energy,” McGuire said. “If guys want to increase that, focus on what you can control. That’s your game and how hard you’re practicing and how hard you’re playing.”

___

AP Sports Writer Schuyler Dixon contributed.



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David Pollack sees LSU as a College Football Playoff team ‘if everything went perfect’

David Pollack likes LSU as a College Football Playoff team if everything breaks right and that’s a big ask in 2025. There’s a lot of talent on the Tigers, but there are some questions going into the fall. Garrett Nussmeier certainly helps going into the season. The LSU quarterback is a Heisman Trophy contender, but […]

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David Pollack likes LSU as a College Football Playoff team if everything breaks right and that’s a big ask in 2025. There’s a lot of talent on the Tigers, but there are some questions going into the fall.

Garrett Nussmeier certainly helps going into the season. The LSU quarterback is a Heisman Trophy contender, but as Pollack pointed out, he’s gotta deal with a new offensive line.

Four of the five guys from last year are gone. So basically if everything’s perfect, which is rare, LSU could be a playoff team. 

“And so to start this off, that’s great (because you have Nussmeier),” Pollack said on See Ball Get Ball. “Four guys of the five up front are gone, and they got drafted. They went to the NFL. And here’s the disturbing part, like when I start to look at this roster, I see a lot of great. I see a lot of great, I see a lot of good things. I see a lot to be excited about. I see a team, if everything went perfect, they could go to the playoffs … if the new additions are who the new additions are, like, they’re a team that could somehow get it together. But the offensive line a year ago had four guys drafted … and they didn’t have balance on offense, and that’s where that has to grow for me. 

“Like I saw Caden Durham, who’s an animal. Like this dude is a freshman. He proved he’s one of the best backs in the country. He had more receiving yards than any other freshman in the country, he was good at that. He was almost three and a half yards after contact every single time he touched the football. Like, this dude can play the game. They’ve got to have more balance. If Nussmeier has balance on this offense, good luck. Like they’re going to score points at will against everybody, and then the defense obviously comes along and makes plays.”

David Pollack says LSU needs everything to break right

LSU has some talent as Pollack alluded to the offensive talent. Barion Brown and Nic Anderson transferred in at the WR spot as well as sophomore running back Caden Durham going into Year 2 with the program.

The defense for LSU has some transfers, including in the secondary. Harold Perkins is also back at linebacker for his junior season.

“They got the running back, the offensive line, does that come to fruition,” Pollack said. “The schedule you mentioned, though, at Clemson, at Ole Miss, at Bama, at OU, that’s a lot of ‘ats/’ And I think early in the season, while this all things coming together, like, are they out of it before they blinked? Like, are they out of it before they gel?

“Because I see this team down the stretch being a team that like crap, you don’t want to fool with. You don’t mess with (them) once they’ve gelled, once they’ve got experience. But coming out of the gates, how good is LSU and to me that’s why they’re not going to make the playoff to me.”



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Arkansas’ John Calipari Breaks Silence Year 1 Chaos That Ended with Sweet 16 Breakthrough

Arkansas Razorbacks coach John Calipari had an eventful first year as the head shot-caller for the program in the 2024-25 season. The Razorbacks had an abysmal start to the recently concluded campaign, wherein they started 0-5 in conference play, before eventually making it to the 2025 NCAA tournament and reaching the Sweet 16. In a […]

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Arkansas Razorbacks coach John Calipari had an eventful first year as the head shot-caller for the program in the 2024-25 season. The Razorbacks had an abysmal start to the recently concluded campaign, wherein they started 0-5 in conference play, before eventually making it to the 2025 NCAA tournament and reaching the Sweet 16.

In a recent media availability on Wednesday, July 9, by Inside Arkansas on YouTube after an Arkansas open practice, Calipari was asked about his thoughts on his first year with the Razorbacks and how it affected his and the team’s overall morale from the beginning to how they finished.

“Last year, you know how it started, we had no team, had no staff. I said, ‘Can I see the schedule?.’ There was no schedule. I’m like, ‘What?,’ and now you bring guys together that did not know each other and I had a couple from before but the reality of it is it was a brand new team. Then we get hurt, so I didn’t get to do the scrimmaging, and I knew we’d be behind,” Calipari said. (13:30)

He then went on to expound on the gravity of the result they had by the end of the year.

“But, at the end of the year, that was the most rewarding year I can remember in a long time because they stayed true and they stayed strong and we just kept tweaking and changing to try to make us good. Right now, you know, you can tell I’m more comfortable, like, I had to walk in here, I didn’t know anybody. I didn’t know the campus. Do you guys understand? I never was on this campus,” Calipari explained. (14:11)

“We went from the graduate down the back way and I’m thinking, ‘This is awful,’ to that building and most times, it was dark. We came in late and maybe in the afternoon, we’d come down and chill but we went the back way…So, I didn’t even know what the campus was, I didn’t know anybody, all that stuff. So, I’m just more comfortable,” he added.

In his first year with the Razorbacks, Calipari led the program to an overall record of 22-14 (8-10, SEC) and went all the way to the Sweet 16 of this year’s March Madness, bowing out of the tournament to the Texas Tech Red Raiders, 85-83.

John Calipari Is More Aligned With The Arkansas Razorbacks Now Given That It’s About His Players

Later on his availability to the media after an open practice with the Arkansas Razorbacks, coach John Calipari shared why exactly he is more comfortable and at peach with being at the helm of the program’s coaching staff, citing their priorities as the reason why.

“Let me tell you, I am so happy and comfortable and at peace with what we’re doing and how we’re doing it because we’re about the kids. It ain’t about this, that, it’s about those kids. Now, if we do our job, they’re going to lead us to where we’re trying to go, and I say it again, it’s real, what we’re doing,” Calipari shared. (15:12)

Calipari and the Razorbacks will now look to uncork a better outing in the 2025-25 season later this year, which officially begins around the first week of November.

College Sports Network has you covered with the latest news, analysis, insights, and trending stories in college footballmen’s college basketballwomen’s college basketball, and college baseball!



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TCU student group Legacy Frogs combines business and sports to create NIL deals

Texas Christian University triathlete Maddie Perkins has qualified for the NCAA national championships several times, and the seasoned college athlete uses her name, image and likeness to secure brand, or NIL deals.  For Perkins, a master’s student in biology, it’s been hard to balance it all: academics, athletics and building her social media presence. But […]

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TCU student group Legacy Frogs combines business and sports to create NIL deals

Texas Christian University triathlete Maddie Perkins has qualified for the NCAA national championships several times, and the seasoned college athlete uses her name, image and likeness to secure brand, or NIL deals. 

For Perkins, a master’s student in biology, it’s been hard to balance it all: academics, athletics and building her social media presence. But a new TCU student group called Legacy Frogs is freeing her up to do what she does best.

“I train a lot, and so I can get videos of me training, but editing them takes a really long time,” Perkins said. “It takes a lot of the weight off of my shoulders, of having to film everything, edit it and then schedule it and post it.”

Legacy Frogs, created by three business students in 2024, is part of the university’s game plan for what TCU athletic director Mike Buddie called the “unwritten script” of college athletics. A recent $2.8 billion NCAA settlement paves the way for schools to pay athletes directly and requires outside deals to reflect fair market value — often assessed through social media metrics, Legacy Frogs’ specialty. 

“It’s based on follower count, what school are you at? How many likes? Are you one of the best players on the team?” said Will Sturner, a business management senior and the president of Legacy Frogs. “There are so many factors that go into it, but social media outreach is definitely going to be over 50% of that equation.”

In the world of NIL deals, social media marketing accounts for a huge chunk of the money. With the influencer economy, the more social media presence you have, the better the deals.

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Sturner started brainstorming about creating the group in September last year. He reached out to the university’s Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, and Legacy Frogs soon became a part of that machine. It’s a venture studio run by students for student-athletes. Players can stop by for help with their social media content or securing brand deals. 

In some ways, the student group is swimming in a pool of big money with NIL collectives, but they’ve established their strokes. They’re not getting a cut — in fact they’re not making any money — but they’re gaining business and marketing skills as they help out student-athletes.

“We found our niche, and our niche is not those big market brand deals,” said Philip Rosenfeld Jr., the group’s executive vice president and a senior majoring in finance. “Everyone wants that $10,000 or $20,000 brand deal. But the local market with $100, $200 and $300 brand deals is so rich, and there’s so much to be had there.”

TCU basketball player Micah Robinson, right, triathlete Maddie Perkins and Philip Rosenfeld Jr., Legacy Frogs executive vice president, pose together on July 1, 2025, in the Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth. (Mary Abby Goss | Fort Worth Report)

The group connects players to businesses that match their personality and lifestyle. Through the group, Perkins was able to secure deals with nutrition and wellness brand Just Ingredients and energy drink Gorgie. 

Riley Richards, Legacy Frog’s vice president of brand development, asks athletes about the brands they like, their hobbies and interests.

“Most of what I do for sourcing brand deals comes from the athletes own personality and interests,” said Richards, a senior double majoring in entrepreneurship and management. “In the NIL space, the best way to gain traction and have a successful partnership is through authenticity.”

In the past few months, the group has focused on national businesses. In the coming months, Legacy Frogs will reach out to brands with Fort Worth locations such as Toppers, Smoothie King, Fuzzy’s Taco Shop and locally owned boutiques and stores.

One of the group’s first recruits was TCU basketball player Micah Robinson. 

“If I could get Micah, I knew I would be able to have some proof of concept, as well as have a face for us,” said Sturner, who is also the head manager for the men’s basketball team.

Robinson, who was a freshman at the time, said the group has really helped transform his social media presence. 

“I’ll post pictures from my games and that’s it,” said Robinson, who is a sophomore majoring in communications. “But they’ve really helped me get my personality out there because I feel like I’ve just never really expressed myself on social media.”

Through Legacy Frogs, he’s been able to secure deals with Incrediwear, an athletic recovery clothing brand, and Kane, a recovery footwear brand.

Sturner called the group’s first months the pilot phase. The team has grown from three to 10 students.

“We have some proof of concept,” Sturner said. “We’re ready to take on new athletes and are ready to see this grow.”

Legacy Frogs, he said, is ready for the new era of revenue sharing.

Shomial Ahmad is a higher education reporter for the Fort Worth Report, in partnership with Open Campus. Contact her at shomial.ahmad@fortworthreport.org.

The Report’s higher education coverage is supported in part by major higher education institutions in Tarrant County, including Tarleton State University, Tarrant County College, Texas A&M-Fort Worth, Texas Christian University, Texas Wesleyan University, the University of Texas at Arlington and UNT Health Science Center.

At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.

Fort Worth Report is certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative for adhering to standards for ethical journalism.

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Adam Hill: Brand new NIL, salary cap rules in college sports may already be outdated | Football

LAS VEGAS — There is a four-word sentence that would have been difficult to ever imagine typing even just a few days ago. Mike Gundy is right. OK, I said it. We got that out of the way. Let’s not kid ourselves. The Oklahoma State football coach didn’t exactly arrive at a correct opinion through […]

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LAS VEGAS — There is a four-word sentence that would have been difficult to ever imagine typing even just a few days ago.

Mike Gundy is right.

OK, I said it. We got that out of the way.

Let’s not kid ourselves. The Oklahoma State football coach didn’t exactly arrive at a correct opinion through altruism. But hey, that whole saying about a broken clock has been proved right yet again.

Gundy this week directly articulated what many in the college sports landscape are only willing to say behind the scenes. All of these new rules and regulations created by the House v. NCAA settlement and the implementation of revenue sharing for college athletes just isn’t working.

Already.

And we’re only like 10 days into the rollout.

“You’ve gotta restructure your systems and admit players are employees,” Gundy told the “Andy & Ari On3” podcast at Big 12 media day. “Then you can build collective bargaining. We’ve all talked about it. But you have to admit they’re employees. You can do it all. You can have a (salary cap) and you need an entry level for a high school player coming in because it’s not sustainable.”

Those voices that have been against players getting paid at all certainly aren’t going to like the idea of unionization and even more power, but it might be the only way forward.

Gundy’s evolution on the issue is a result of a realization his program, which tried to hold the line against pay-for-play recruiting in the transfer portal, can’t compete in the new era.

While his motives may not be pure, Gundy has at least arrived in the place where most everyone else will be in time.

Because remember how the settlement was supposed to fix so much of the broken pay structure in college sports? How it was going to bring transparency to a process that severely lacked it and at least put teams on an even playing field in terms of moving the payments above board while still allowing the athletes to profit off their individual value above and beyond the revenue sharing money while providing some oversight to the transactions?

It truly was an admirable endeavor. It just wasn’t going to work.

Ideally, this model was going to be a solid bridge to the inevitable and potentially a good foundation from which to build the future model for college sports.

But that concept certainly wasn’t helped by the settlement getting approved just days before it was set to be implemented. That created chaos.

While programs were cleared to immediately start compensating athletes up to the salary cap, the firm Deloitte was tasked by the power conference-backed College Sports Commission with deciding whether individual players’ NIL deals above and beyond that were legitimate and of fair market value.

It would take far more time and words to explain the difficulties of determining such a standard. So, it seems what has happened in practice is the College Sports Commission has decided to simply reject all deals done with athletes through collectives as a general practice as a starting point.

Collectives can serve as a conduit to connect athletes with legitimate businesses, it clarified in a letter, but can’t essentially hold their own fundraising events to collect money to pay players. It’s a fine line.

But it also means players were made promises that may not actually come to fruition.

Some of the more forward-thinking groups front-loaded deals and got the payments made before this process started a couple weeks ago, but others are left wondering what happens next.

Attorneys for the players have lashed out, demanding a retraction of the ruling on collective payments and calling it a restriction of the players’ earning potential that runs counter to the settlement.

On the flip side, allowing collectives to simply accumulate and distribute vast resources as a way to circumvent the new salary cap rules kind of defeats the whole competitive balance thing.

It’s incredibly complicated.

“We don’t know the rules,” Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham admitted. “The settlement passed, but who knows what Deloitte is going to clear? Until there is clarity, you’re living in limbo.”

Exactly.

Gundy is right. So is Dillingham. Sadly, this temporary fix has to be extremely short-lived.

Chances are even some sort of CBA isn’t going to provide all the answers, but it’s the logical next step.


©2025 Las Vegas Review-Journal. Visit reviewjournal.com.. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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Big Ten and Big 12 in public dispute over future of College Football Playoff

At the Big 12 media days, commissioner Brett Yormark was very upfront about what the College Football Playoff expansion should look like. He continues to beat the drum of five automatic qualifiers with eleven at-large bids chosen by the College Football Playoff committee. He fired back at Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti, who is pushing […]

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At the Big 12 media days, commissioner Brett Yormark was very upfront about what the College Football Playoff expansion should look like. He continues to beat the drum of five automatic qualifiers with eleven at-large bids chosen by the College Football Playoff committee. He fired back at Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti, who is pushing for more automatic qualifiers, with four each going to the Big Ten and the SEC, and only two each for the Big 12 and ACC, and a small amount of at-large.

Tony Petitti and Brett Yormark aren’t hiding their disagreement over the CFP’s expansion

Petitti joined CBS Sports’ Joel Klatt a few weeks ago to talk about the College Football Playoff expansion and how a decision needs to be made by December 1. He believes the Big Ten and the SEC are due more bids than other conferences, and he doubts that increasing the committee’s at-large choices will make a difference.

““If you go to 16, and you have 11 at-large, you just added even more decision-making…We’ll stipulate the committee does the best job they can. This is not to say the (committee) doesn’t do a good job…They make incredibly difficult decisions based on data…When you start comparing teams that don’t have a head to head and you have very little data to look at between leagues, that becomes really difficult.””

Tony Petitti, Big Ten Commissioner

Brett Yormark thinks that’s a terrible idea and was very clear to voice his disdain over it during the Big 12 media days. He called it a professional model like the NFL and thinks college football should act like college football. There’s a reason it’s different in his mind, and that conferences should be working for the good of all of football, not just their own conference. Which ironically is what Yormark is being accused of by advocating for the 5+11 model.

““We have the responsibility to do what’s right for college football … not what’s right for one or two or more conferences. I think 5-11 is fair. Earn it on the field, assuming we want to expand. I love the current format, but if we’re going to expand, let’s do it in a way that’s fair and equitable and gives everyone a chance.””

Brett Yormark, Big 12 Commissioner

The Big Ten and the SEC have yet to have their media days, and so there will be more expansion thoughts publicly broadcast as the dispute has come out in the open. It’s hard to know how it will all shake out, but the December 1 deadline is looming.





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