How a $5 million ‘Wild West’ NIL offer cost Texas an elite prospect they would’ve never lost under previous recruiting rules originally appeared on A to Z Sports.

The Texas Longhorns were always viewed as a heavy favorite to keep Mansfield, Texas, native and five-star offensive tackle prospect Felix Ojo in their class. Steve Sarkisian pitched an excellent situation to Ojo, including an NFL pipeline, a great NIL offer, and the ability to win.

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Instead, Ojo shocked the world when, hours before his decision came, a flurry of new crystal ball projections pointed to Texas Tech. Not long later, the Red Raiders were announced as Ojo’s next stop. The next shocker was the staggering NIL offer agreed upon, which included $775,000 a year that could swell to $5.1 million.

Ojo’s agent, Derrick Shelby, explained that the house settlement about revenue sharing is what caused the rise of the Red Raiders. He explained that offers changed after that pivotal moment, but Texas Tech stood firm.

“Through this process, some of his visits and offers were coming pre-House settlement. It was more of the wild, wild west,” Shelby said. “Once they signed off on the House settlement, a lot of the numbers changed. Now, they may not have as much to give. Tech’s number didn’t change.”

The loss was stunning for Texas in the moment, but the context makes it more understandable how Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns couldn’t win. Ojo was prioritizing the bag throughout his recruitment, and it’s why Ohio State hadn’t expected to win the fight even before the house settlement.

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Financially, Texas and Ohio State have too many players to pay to compete with a lesser program that can be top-heavy with its spending. That’s the cost that comes with being a deeper roster and hyper-competitive across numerous sports.

Ojo, a 6-foot-7, 285-pound standout, is ESPN’s No. 4 offensive tackle and the second-highest-ranked recruit from Texas in the 2026 class. After taking official visits to Florida, Michigan, Ohio State, and Texas this spring, Ojo committed to Texas Tech, marking the highest-rated recruit in the program’s history since ESPN started tracking high school prospects in 2006.

Ojo’s commitment comes with one of the most substantial fully guaranteed revenue-share agreements in college football, made possible by the recent federal settlement allowing direct athlete compensation.

ESPN indicated that Ojo’s deal is comparable to the multimillion-dollar contract signed by Jackson Cantwell, the No. 3 overall prospect in 2026, who secured over $2 million annually with incentives at Miami earlier this year.

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This move underscores Texas Tech’s aggressive investment in talent. According to ESPN’s Max Olson, the Red Raiders allocated over $10 million to acquire 17 players during the winter transfer portal window.

In total, Texas Tech added 21 transfers, assembling the nation’s second-ranked transfer class this offseason. Ojo’s signing is the latest in a series of bold financial commitments by the program, signaling its intent to compete at the highest level.

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This story was originally reported by A to Z Sports on Jul 6, 2025, where it first appeared.

The anticipated release of EA Sports College Football 26, the second edition since the game returned last summer, is set for this week!

Those of you who preordered will be able to play the game on Monday, July 7, while the rest of the world will have to wait a few extra days until Thursday, July 10.

Regardless, it’s time to virtually take the UNC football program to the promise land (in whichever game play mode you elect to focus on!)

Ahead of the release of this year’s edition of the game, let’s take a look at how the UNC football program ranks as a team. Considered an 82 overall squad, the Tar Heels’ defensive unit has a 84 rating, while the offense, with questions at the quarterback spot, come in at an 81 overall.

Given North Carolina’s struggles on the defensive side of the ball as of late, Tar Heel fans would certainly be thrilled to see some defensive improvements in Bill Belichick’s first season at the helm (along with his son, Steve, the program’s new defensive coordinator).

To answer the question you’re probably asking: no, Bill Belichick is not in the EA Sports College Football 26 game (are you even surprised?).

In terms of individual rankings, you probably couldn’t guess the top four rated UNC football players. No, we’re not saying you don’t have the knowledge, but with so many new faces, even we had trouble figuring out who would rank atop the list.

Another promising sign: three of the Tar Heels top four ranked players play on the defensive side of the football:

Andrew Simpson (MLB)- 87 overall
Thaddeus Dixon (CB) – 86 overall
Marcus Allen (CB) – 85 overall
Chad Lindberg (LG) – 85 overall

While there will be plenty of time to debate the initial rankings, let’s take a look at the UNC football program’s quarterback room. Transfer Gio Lopez leads the pack with an 83 overall, with veteran Max Johnson and true freshman Bryce Baker falling behind him on the depth chart:

Gio Lopez – 83 overall
Max Johnson – 77 overall
Bryce Baker – 74 overall

Let’s remember: the ratings fluctuate over time, so these are not set in stone. If the Tar Heels have some standouts early on in the season, don’t be surprised if their rankings go up once the updates start to roll in.

The question remains: are you ready for some virtual college football?!

The Ohio State football team is projected to lose yet another defensive end recruit that they have been trying to land. This time, they are projected to lose out on KJ Ford, a player that they tried to get late in this cycle. They are desperate to add defensive ends at this point.

ON3 is predicting that Ford is going to end up at Florida, which would be devastating for the Buckeyes. They are striking out left and right at defensive linemen, which is a major problem. Larry Johnson has struggled to be able to recruit in the NIL era.

Fans of the Ohio State Buckeyes were split when Johnson decided to stay for another year. Johnson was contemplating retirement, but decided to come back. If Ryan Day is smart, he will make sure that this is the only extra year that Johnson will be getting.

Another DE is expected to rebuke the Ohio State football team

Ford is a four-star recruit, so losing him would be another blow to a 2026 recruiting class that has slid down the rankings in recent weeks. They now have just the fifth-best recruiting class in the country. Just a couple of months ago, they had the second-best class.

At that time, there was talk that the Buckeyes could possibly win a recruiting national championship for the first time. Now, they are staring down the barrel of the lowest-rated recruiting class in the Ryan Day era. The fact that it is coming close to happening the year after a national championship is mind-blogging.

Ohio State will have to pivot to some different options at DE, but those options are becoming slimmer as the summer goes on. There are still six months before these kids sign with a program, so fans shouldn’t panic yet. Still, this is a bad pattern from Johnson.