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It was a mixed bag for Ohio State football recruiting on Thursday. The Buckeyes landed 4-star linebacker Cincere Johnson out of Cleveland Glenville, but then got some sour news with losing out on 4-star defensive end Luke Wafle to the USC Trojans. It was a bit of an about-turn for Wafle. As early as Wednesday […]
It was a mixed bag for Ohio State football recruiting on Thursday. The Buckeyes landed 4-star linebacker Cincere Johnson out of Cleveland Glenville, but then got some sour news with losing out on 4-star defensive end Luke Wafle to the USC Trojans.
It was a bit of an about-turn for Wafle. As early as Wednesday evening, it looked as though the Buckeyes were favored to land the priority edge rusher, but USC reportedly made a late push after an official visit and upped the ante with increased NIL money. If you believe the reports from Steve Wiltfong of On3 (subscription required), OSU then came to the table with more money, but the Trojans again came to the table with the money to land his services.
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Out of Princeton, New Jersey, Wafle is ranked as the No. 6 edge rusher and 55th overall prospect in the 2026 class according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings. He was one of Ohio State’s priority targets to cap off the 2026 class, but the Buckeyes will now have to turn their attention elsewhere. After the news, USC holds onto its firm grip on the No. 1 ranked class in the country according to the 247Sports Team Composite Rankings, thanks in large part to a whopping 30 guys who have given their verbal pledge. The Buckeyes remain ranked as the No. 3 class in the 2026 cycle with their 16 total commitments to date.
This is just another example of how NIL has changed how difficult it is to predict big-time college football recruiting these days. All indications point to Wafle wanting to be a Buckeye, but the money seemed to change things.
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This article originally appeared on Buckeyes Wire: Ohio State recruiting: Buckeyes miss out on 4-star defensive end
The new college football “pay for play” era is just 32 days from kickoff, and no one can say for sure how it’s all going to work. Coaches and administrators are scrambling to establish ground rules and ensure everyone is on the same page, especially when factoring in Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) policies. How […]
The new college football “pay for play” era is just 32 days from kickoff, and no one can say for sure how it’s all going to work. Coaches and administrators are scrambling to establish ground rules and ensure everyone is on the same page, especially when factoring in Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) policies.
That also includes the high school ranks. During the keynote address at the Texas High School Coaches Association convention on Sunday, July 20, Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian called on high school coaches to resist outside influences that could compromise their players’ development. That includes agents who now serve as the go-between in player negotiations with college programs.
“I think there’s a responsibility of the high school coaches to not just fall prey to, well, now there’s money and there’s agents and my role has been diminished,” Sarkisian said. “I think they need to be bullish to not let their role be diminished. And we would prefer that, quite frankly. Agents are going to be a part of this, and let’s not act like they’re not.”
Sarkisian said college football has been changing for decades, and though this is one of the biggest changes in the game’s history, high school leaders need to stay present.
“You are still the ones raising your kids. You’re still the ones that they look to for guidance.” Sarkisian said. “This idea right now of what’s happening, in my opinion, is because of the agents. They’re going to shop your kids. And we can’t lose sight of trying to offer really good advice.”
When the season kicks off, Sarkisian’s Longhorns may very well be ranked No. 1 in the nation. His message to more than 18,000 coaches resonates. He also answered questions about player contracts and what to expect during negotiations with college programs. He made sure to point out the one area he believes will cause problems: long-term, high-dollar contracts for high school graduates.
“Let’s paint a picture,” Sarkisian said. “We sign a young man to a three-year contract. That should mean, in my opinion, if he’s on a three-year guaranteed contract, that he has to stay at my university for three years. The problem I have with that is at the end of year one, if Billy doesn’t like the way it’s going, he’s a free agent. He can go in the portal and leave. That doesn’t make sense to me. That’s not a good business model.”
Athletic departments will also have to combat those that may push the boundaries of what’s legal in the next few months and years. The College Sports Commission, formed just days after the landmark House v. NCAA settlement, is still in the process of establishing ground rules and determining punishments for those who break the rules.
Each school has a budget of $20.5 million to allocate to its college sports programs. Outside NIL deals will tip the balance of power, but at this point, no one is sure how much. ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips urged his members to adhere to the rules at the conference’s season kickoff event.
“It’s about setting up a standard with transparency,” Phillips said. “We haven’t had that in the NIL era. Sometimes we can’t help ourselves. People know what the rules are relative to the $20.5. They know what legitimate NIL is. You can play in the gray area if you want, but all that does is undermine the new structure.”
Phillips reiterated the need for government oversight and continues to advocate for federal legislation to establish guardrails. However, that could take months if it happens at all.
Which means, as the season fast approaches, those in charge will need to stay vigilant.
“Is the system perfect?” Sarkisian asked, “No. Are we trying to get better at cleaning it up to making it better for all parties involved? I do think we are. Yes. But we’re definitely a work in progress right now.”
Sarkisian is optimistic and believes that, eventually, college football will get to a good place, but he’s also looking forward to putting all the NIL talk aside and getting back on the field. The Longhorns begin fall practice on July 30, along with many other major programs around the country.
contributed to this report.
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EXCLUSIVE: UCLA basketball coach Mick Cronin talks Transfer Portal, his roster, and NIL changes In this exclusive and extensive interview, UCLA head basketball coach Mick Cronin talked about the Transfer Portal, evaluated every player on his roster after several weeks of summer practice, and then went in-depth on the way NIL and rev share have […]
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Pat Welter and Brian Murphy break down Jim Phillips commissioner’s forum at ACC Kickoff in Charlotte. Show Transcript Injury reports and safer field storming if you can actually have such a thing Those are some of the changes coming to the ACC Brian Those changes small potatoes for some of what Jim Phillips has had […]
Pat Welter and Brian Murphy break down Jim Phillips commissioner’s forum at ACC Kickoff in Charlotte.
Over the past two seasons, a case can be made that there has been a changing of the guard as the Big Ten has arguably surpassed the SEC when it comes to being the top conference in College Football. The Big Ten has won the last two National Championships with 3 of the 4 teams […]
Over the past two seasons, a case can be made that there has been a changing of the guard as the Big Ten has arguably surpassed the SEC when it comes to being the top conference in College Football. The Big Ten has won the last two National Championships with 3 of the 4 teams that played in those final games, with Washington leaving the Pac 12.
The biggest reason the Big Ten may have surpassed the SEC is how they’ve been able to handle this NIL and Transfer Portal era. Once programs have been able to figure out this landscape, the Big Ten has won back-to-back Championships and may be able to continue its run of dominance if it can win it all again this season.
On his show “The Herd”, Colin Cowherd laid out why he believes that the Big Ten has been able to surpass the SEC over the last few seasons.
“Big Ten schools are bigger. They have more graduates. It’s easier to raise money for NIL. You add in Phil Knight and the Nike money, add in USC and the LA economy money, the Big Ten cities, LA, New York, Rutgers, Chicago, Northwestern, Minneapolis, DC, Seattle. Big Ten money is Hollywood, tech, and financial centers. A lot of car dealerships in the SEC and car dealerships are running on razor-thin margins. So right now, the top spenders in college football, according to the On3 poll, four of the top seven are Big Ten and that’s not changing.”
Colin Cowherd
The On3 Poll that Colin Cowherd is referring to is one run by On3’s Pete Nakos, as he surveyed individuals directly tied to programs to gain insight into who the biggest spenders in the sport are.
NEW: Top 10 Biggest Spenders in College Football this season💰
(Survey via @PeteNakos_) https://t.co/KSq2X85KFe pic.twitter.com/B6YylQ1djM
— On3 (@On3sports) July 15, 2025
The case that Colin Cowherd is making is true, as the programs have some of the biggest boosters and have built some of the craziest rosters in the sport. Oregon has the backing of Phil Knight and Nike, Michigan had the backing of the 2nd richest man in the world, Larry Ellison, who helped secure Bryce Underwood, and Ohio State’s roster was declared the $20 million roster for a reason.
When you look at some of the SEC programs and their pushes to raise NIL funding, the point becomes clearer. LSU had an impressive offseason because its Head Coach declared he’d match any funds raised up to a million dollars, which allowed the program to drive donations.
On the other hand, several other SEC Programs have figured out how to use NIL to their advantage when building a roster. Texas lines up Lamborghinis every recruiting weekend, throwing their NIL prowess in everyone’s faces. Tennessee publicly made a massive NIL deal to land Nico Iamaleava out of High School and has found creative ways to raise funds.
While it may be too early in the new model of College Football, especially as revenue sharing arrives in the sport, the Big Ten has certainly figured out how to win in this era. If the Big Ten wins the National Championship again this season, it’ll be clear as day that the Big Ten sits above the SEC but this season the power looks to be swinging back toward the SEC.
BILLINGS — Montana State has gone out of its way to market its student-athletes through the Bobcat Collective, and it’s the faces of the university that are benefiting exponentially. “My brother, Wilson, is pretty happy for me, but then I tell my borther Mitch and he says, ‘What? How come I didn’t get any of […]
BILLINGS — Montana State has gone out of its way to market its student-athletes through the Bobcat Collective, and it’s the faces of the university that are benefiting exponentially.
“My brother, Wilson, is pretty happy for me, but then I tell my borther Mitch and he says, ‘What? How come I didn’t get any of that?’ He gets pretty fired up,” said Montana State senior defensive lineman Paul Brott, whose brothers played previously for the Bobcats.
“They’re paying for me to eat every month, and as you can tell it’s kind of expensive. Probably around 2-3 pounds of beef. A lot of carbs, so the grocery bill is upwards of 200 bucks a week.”
“The Montana Army National Guard one is super cool,” said Montana State women’s basketball player Taylee Chirrick. “We got to fly in a Blackhawk up to Helena, which is crazy. We shot some guns — M4, M249 — shot a machine gun. It was super, super cool to experience. That’s a fun NIL to have.”
For guys like Brott, a few extra bucks in the pocket certainly doesn’t hurt. Brott has put on roughly 80 pounds since arriving in Bozeman years back, but he’s been able to do so in a healthy way.
“Back in the day when I was really bulking, it was six meals a day. Seven if I would sneak one in. It was 6,500, 7,000 calories a day, and when you were done it was like if you moved you were going to throw up,” Brott said. “It would be a lot harder, because with the NIL I’m able to pay for all the stuff I need, to where I might have to eat a little dirtier if I didn’t have the money.”
NIL — a acronym for name, image and likeness — represents a giant shift from times of less than a decade ago where we saw athletes get punished for receiving monetary benefits. Now we see athletes with their faces on t-shirts and trading cards helping inspire the next generation.
With the recent approval of the House settlement, the athletes now have the ability to earn revenue from the school directly.
“It’s so cool. Just to see that you’re a leader for young girls and they look up to you so much. It shows such an impact that you have,” Chirrick said. “To keep playing and keep working hard, it honestly pushes me even more to want to represent Montana and represent these young girls that want to play past high school and push to play college basketball, because it’s a really cool opportunity.”
It’s been a busy summer making appearances, but it certainly makes the college life a bit more comfortable for these Bobcats.
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