Recruiting never stops and it’s easy to miss the top stories day-to-day. Recruiting analyst Greg Smith recaps all things Nebraska recruiting news, analysis and more so you never miss a thing.
It is a new day in college athletics. July 1 marked the day that college athletes can receive payments for their name, image and likeness. Several creative ways for student-athletes to take advantage have popped up on the first day.
The day is a historic one. Name, image and likeness represent a huge change. It’s the biggest change we have seen to the collegiate model in a long time. The argument of it being a good change or a bad change is for another column. Spoiler alert: I am 100% in favor of this. The way your personal feelings lean on the subject won’t stop this. Big changes are coming and will be here for a while. I’m always in search of the recruiting angle in this notebook.
What are the recruiting implications here?
The first thing worth pointing out is that high school recruits can not take advantage of this. It is still not permissible for boosters to use their businesses to lure 5-star athletes. That’s not the spirit of these new rules. That would also jeopardize the prospect’s high school eligibility. The open Wild West scenario that some fear is not legal.
What can legally happen across college athletics is that NIL is another tool in the bag for schools. It is already being used in pitches by schools to recruits. Nebraska publicly embracing the changes in the landscape early was so important. The Huskers have been showing for months that they’d work with student-athletes on building their brands.
Those nice videos with football player logos? Nebraska has been doing them since January. That’s a selling point on the recruiting trail. So is the role Nebraska played in helping volleyball player Lexi Sun be ready roll on the first day. In recruiting, it all matters.
ah hi friends!! so SO excited to introduce to you…THE SUNNY CREW.
ive been working on this fun / happy lil project for some time now & am stoked i get to share it w yall 🙂
shop ur new crew by going to https://t.co/hYHhJeUEVo ✨
SALES START TONIGHT @ 12 MIDNIGHT pic.twitter.com/VfWK9uR6pw
— lexi sun (@lexiisun) July 1, 2021
Nebraska’s preparedness appeals to parents. There are a lot of unknowns about everything happening right now. There is power in Nebraska being able to say they were prepared for this. They can help answer some questions that come up from parents during the recruiting process.
Another key component about the new process that will appeal to parents: Nebraska’s educational approach. It’s a three-part initiative to help student-athletes maximize the NIL legislation. Ready Now by Opendorse, Accelerate—which is a campus program—and Husker Advantage—coordinated by LifeSkills—are the three pillars of the Huskers’ efforts.
Everything is so new. There is a lot of information and moving parts with this new era of college athletics. The Huskers enter the era in a good position to be a school that benefits from NIL. That early positioning should pay recruiting dividends as schools look for any advantage possible on the trail.
Recruit Watch
>> Recent Husker enrollee Mikai Gbayor picked up a cool honor before he left for Lincoln.
Mikai Gbayor received the Essex Award from the Men of Essex organization tonight. We were all extremely thrilled for Mikai to receive this honor. Mikai’s acceptance speech was heartfelt, and demonstrated gratitude and humbleness. Congrats, Mikai pic.twitter.com/iounRMfvQ4
— Irvington Athletics (@irvblueknights) July 1, 2021
>> The Huskers offered 2023 Florida defensive back Elliot Washington on Wednesday evening.
I Am Honored To Receive An Offer From University of Nebraska 🤍❤️@CoachTFisher @VeniceIndianFB @adamgorney @Andrew_Ivins pic.twitter.com/DD1a9WhPPz
— Elliot Washington II (@ElliotWashingt9) June 30, 2021
ICYMI
>> Derek Peterson took a look into what other type of athletic directors (Premium) Power Five programs hire.
>> After a busy month of visits Nebraska coaches are ready to hit the road again, writes Jacob Padilla.
>> The Hail Varsity staff is here to answer your questions in the mailbag including NIL dos and don’t, special teams and more.
