Can someone explain to me what a “handler” is for these big time high school recruits

The bag man

The one who creates the go fund his family account and promises all these shoe deals

A guy that manages their recruitment when their high school coaches or parents can’t

Can I be the handler for my son, or does it have to be a non-relative? To date, not a single person at any college has shown interest in him, I just want to be ahead of it all.

That’s the moocher that hands the money out to the other moochers.

There's a 30-For-30 about Marcus Dupree.

One of the Oklahoma coaches, Lucious Selmon, talks about how every recruit has an "uncle". Paraphrasing him, "There's ALWAYS an 'uncle.'"

There are also "barbers". There is a barber in Tangipahoa who is Bama's main recruiter for southern Louisiana. Basically, he's paid by Bama boosters to steer Louisiana recruits to Bama. And, he's the one who actually pays the "uncles" of the players to distribute to the player and his family. For Marcus, the "barber" who did everything for Oklahoma was a preacher.

Watch the The Best That Never Was and you'll learn about "handlers," "uncles," and "preachers."

They are an agent who is either paid under the table or promised to be compensated as an agent wants the recruit turns pro...or both. And when the recruit turns pro and signs with another agent, the handler sues the athlete and spills the beans on all the prohibited benefits the athlete received in college (see Reggie Bush).