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Recruiting Confidential ... Great read from The Athletic

Posted on 1/3/24 at 12:01 pm
Posted by George P Burdell
Piney Point Village, Texas
Member since Aug 2014
301 posts
Posted on 1/3/24 at 12:01 pm
Not a recruiting junkie, but I do follow LSU's efforts thanks to the people on this board. I've never seen this before, pretty good fly-on-the-wall stuff. I wonder if any of our guys chimed in.

LINK /
Posted by LSUcajun77
New Orleans
Member since Nov 2008
21277 posts
Posted on 1/3/24 at 12:04 pm to
There’s a pay wall, but I’d like to read it.
Posted by lsusa
Doing Missionary work for LSU
Member since Oct 2005
4598 posts
Posted on 1/3/24 at 12:19 pm to
quote:

Who was the weirdest or most arrogant coach you met during the process and why?

• Probably (Colorado’s) Deion (Sanders). It’s all love though. He goes about it in his own unique way. It’s not arrogance — just cockiness.

• (Rutgers’ Greg Schiano) was too robotic.

• Nobody was really arrogant. (Clemson coach Dabo) Swinney isn’t stuck in his ways but doesn’t really want to change much. •

I’d say coach Saban. My mom wasn’t happy with him. We were at a table eating and he acknowledged me, but not my parents. My mom said, “If you’re acknowledging my son, you should acknowledge me.” • I didn’t like (Nick) Saban. It was just the vibe.

• (Ex-Texas A&M coach) Jimbo Fisher. I watched him in practice. He yelled and cussed at guys too much.

• Fisher and Saban. Talking to Saban felt like talking to a robot. It didn’t feel real.
Posted by baobabtiger
Member since May 2009
4724 posts
Posted on 1/3/24 at 12:20 pm to
Good stuff. Thanks for sharing.
Posted by Lester Earl
Member since Nov 2003
278505 posts
Posted on 1/3/24 at 12:21 pm to
-Players aren’t signing to the school that gives them the most in NIL.

- players troll on Twitter by putting out statements knowing fans will freak out

- players & family don’t like Saban


Nothing related to lsu mentioned.
Posted by LSUcajun77
New Orleans
Member since Nov 2008
21277 posts
Posted on 1/3/24 at 12:22 pm to
Thanks, Les!
Posted by LSU Tigerhead
Metairie
Member since Nov 2007
4961 posts
Posted on 1/3/24 at 12:33 pm to


quote:

There’s a pay wall, but I’d like to read it.

1. Copy URL
2. Go to archive.md
3. paste URL
4. read article.
Posted by ATLTiger
#TreyBiletnikoffs
Member since Sep 2003
44574 posts
Posted on 1/3/24 at 12:36 pm to
A couple of the more interesting/ funnier answers IMO

quote:


Did you sign with the school that offered you the best NIL deal? If not, how much did you leave on the table to sign with where you ultimately decided to go?

...

I didn’t sign with the school who offered me the biggest NIL deal I could’ve gotten, but coming from where I come from, any money I receive from a college is life-changing money.


quote:


Did you partake in any trolling of fan bases with comments on social media for your personal enjoyment?

• I dropped a top 10 when I was really only looking at four or five schools. I did it for the followers. I got like 231,000 views for it and picked up followers.


quote:

Which school do you think spent the most money on your visit and why?

• Michigan had these taco food trucks that were off the chain. I’ll never forget it.
• Georgia. They’d drive me everywhere and bring me food to my seat during games on my unofficial visits. I went there sometimes just for the free chicken.



quote:

We heard recruits could make money just for taking an unofficial visit to a school. How many times did you take an unofficial visit just to collect some cash?


• I mean there’s probably somewhere between 45 to 50 kids I know who did it. Usually it was around $6,000 to $7,000. You do an interview with this podcast, come down, we’ll pay for your room, your trip, etc.

• I don’t know what you’re talking about.

• I didn’t know you could do that. For real? I wish I would have — I would have been collecting. Oh my gah. I didn’t have that. I wish.


Posted by Geauxldilocks
Member since Aug 2018
2444 posts
Posted on 1/3/24 at 12:37 pm to
quote:

There’s a pay wall, but I’d like to read it.


Use reader view if you have iPhone.
Posted by George P Burdell
Piney Point Village, Texas
Member since Aug 2014
301 posts
Posted on 1/3/24 at 12:39 pm to
ETA to original post. Sorry for the wall of text, but character caps are a real thing here.

Did you sign with the school that offered you the best NIL deal? If not, how much did you leave on the table to sign with where you ultimately decided to go?
• It wasn’t a big difference for me in terms of the total package. All the schools offered about $300,000 to $400,000 per year with the ability to earn more.
• I left some money on the table, about $50,000. But I signed with my dream school.
• The dollar figures were similar so NIL wasn’t a priority for me. I’m worried about the big bucks later. My relationship with the coaches, watching them practice and seeing it was really was the biggest factor.
• I had another school offer me the same NIL deal in total, but with a signing bonus. The signing bonus would’ve been basically a really nice car. The NIL deal is like an NFL rookie contract. I had an agent handle it all for me. As soon as NIL came out, my dad was like, “You need an agent.” When schools call, they have the position coach, head coach and the money man from the collective call you. That last guy is the one who talks about NIL with the agent.
• I signed with the team that gave me the best chance to make the NFL, not the most NIL money.
• I didn’t sign with the school who offered me the biggest NIL deal I could’ve gotten, but coming from where I come from, any money I receive from a college is life-changing money.
• I signed completely off the bond I built with coaches. I didn’t start talking about NIL until recently. I’ll be making about $80,000 to $100,000 per year. A couple other schools had similar offers.
• No, I didn’t. I signed with (my school) and they gave me like $90,000. I feel like it’s not really about the money for me and I like (my school). … I want to say (my best offer was about) $200,000. They came in the process late and (my school) was there since my freshman year so it was easy."
• I didn’t sign with the school who offered the biggest deal. In total, it was probably about $300,000 in difference for the three years. Why did I go to the school offering less money? Because in the long run I could go somewhere where I can stay focused — not be distracted — and get on the field right away.
• I signed with the school who offered me the best NIL deal. Other schools threw a lot of big numbers out, but the school I signed with I trusted I’d get the money because I saw other guys got it.
• I left some money on the table. I didn’t bring up NIL until my official visits. One team told me if I committed early and helped bring other guys in, they’d give me $40,000 a month up until I signed. But I didn’t sign with them.
• To be honest, I didn’t. I don’t really look at all that stuff right now. I (chose) the school that, I wouldn’t say showed the best love, but it was a school where I just really liked being around the people and I felt like I could make an impact there. … I’ll get (NIL) later on. I think I’m looking to invest in myself now and then get a bigger bag later on.
• I’m not sure. I didn’t really ask about NIL, money-wise. That wasn’t really on my mind. I knew it was gonna come, but I just wasn’t really concerned about it.
Did you partake in any trolling of fan bases with comments on social media for your personal enjoyment?
• A little bit. I’d put out photos of myself at a school I wasn’t visiting just to see what people might say. There were times I’d put out like statements — like you’d do if you were decommitting — to scare people. You just need to have fun sometimes.
• I loved messing with fan bases. I did that to the school I almost signed with.
• I trolled people indirectly. Usually it was our rival. As far as adding followers, I added teams to my list at times and it worked.
• Yeah. I was trolling (a rival school), like posting stuff saying I was gonna commit there. I was just doing it for fun.
• Me and one of my high school teammates would send out certain hashtags and emojis to get fan bases from other teams on social media riled up. It was more about being bored and wanting to do something to see how people might react.
• A little bit. I did it to the fans of the school I was previously committed to just because I was tired of them. I’d ask them: “How was that flip for you?”
• I dropped a top 10 when I was really only looking at four or five schools. I did it for the followers. I got like 231,000 views for it and picked up followers.
• Every day. To get my followers up? Every day. Gosh. All the emojis, all the question marks, “Is this home?” I was getting all my committed friends to send me messages just so I could reply and be like, “Should I come here?” Follow me up. Follow me up. Follow me up.
Who were the nicest coaches you met during the process — from schools you didn’t sign with?
• Sonny Dykes at TCU and Jim Harbaugh at Michigan. Dykes is a family-oriented coach. I have the utmost respect for coaches from Texas.
• I really liked (Georgia) coach (Kirby) Smart, (ex-defensive backs coach) Fran (Brown). (Miami defensive coordinator Lance) Guidry and (executive director Dennis Smith). Just good people. They talk to you about more than football.
• (Florida’s Billy) Napier is a really good dude. So is (Mike) Norvell at Florida State. Coach (Kirby) Smart is a business guy.
• (SMU’s) Rhett Lashlee. He was the most genuine head coach. You can tell it was the real him. Some coaches like to put a face on during the game and another off the field. He was him on and off the field. That’s actually how he acts and moves.
• (Miami’s) Mario Cristobal and (Penn State’s) James Franklin. It doesn’t have to be just about football with them.
• I would say coach KB. (Keith Bhonapha). He was at Oregon State and now he’s at Michigan State. He went with the head coach. I think for him, it’s bigger than football. Obviously we’d talk a lot of ball, but he checked in during the holidays just on a day-to-day basis, so I thought that was cool.
• (Ohio State’s) Ryan Day. You feel like you can talk to him about anything.
• (Alabama’s) Nick Saban. He was different than I expected.
• I would have to say coach Matt Moore, the O-line coach from West Virginia. Just the coolest guy, man. He gave grandfather, uncle vibes all the time. He’s a down South guy, so he always had the hospitality. He’s a good person.
• I want to say between (Tennessee’s) coach Heup (Josh Heupel) and (Oregon’s) Dan Lanning. Coach Heup, down to earth guy. … He’s really nice. Off the field, he’s a nice guy. Good person and he actually cares about his players. He knows his players. His players can come to him, and I see that with my own eyes. And then Dan Lanning, not a lot of people know this, I’m not sure, but his wife had cancer. … I feel like just to open up about that — because he knew me for probably about four or five, six, seven months (and) he’s known his wife probably for forever — I don’t know how to say it, but he’s a soft heart.
Who was the weirdest or most arrogant coach you met during the process and why?
• Probably (Colorado’s) Deion (Sanders). It’s all love though. He goes about it in his own unique way. It’s not arrogance — just cockiness.
• (Rutgers’ Greg Schiano) was too robotic.
• Nobody was really arrogant. (Clemson coach Dabo) Swinney isn’t stuck in his ways but doesn’t really want to change much.
• I’d say coach Saban. My mom wasn’t happy with him. We were at a table eating and he acknowledged me, but not my parents. My mom said, “If you’re acknowledging my son, you should acknowledge me.”
• I didn’t like (Nick) Saban. It was just the vibe.
• (Ex-Texas A&M coach) Jimbo Fisher. I watched him in practice. He yelled and cussed at guys too much.
• Fisher and Saban. Talking to Saban felt like talking to a robot. It didn’t feel real.
Posted by ATLTiger
#TreyBiletnikoffs
Member since Sep 2003
44574 posts
Posted on 1/3/24 at 12:43 pm to
quote:

Sorry for the wall of text, but character caps are a real thing here.


Not posting the entirety of a paywalled article is also real here. Chicken and Co. coming in hot if you do...

(and I know you haven't posted the whole thing yet, just giving a little advice)
This post was edited on 1/3/24 at 12:44 pm
Posted by George P Burdell
Piney Point Village, Texas
Member since Aug 2014
301 posts
Posted on 1/3/24 at 12:54 pm to
Ah, that makes sense. Grazie, buddy. Tried to only include the most interesting questions, but happy to delete if directed.
Posted by wilceaux
Austin, TX
Member since Apr 2004
12406 posts
Posted on 1/3/24 at 1:48 pm to
quote:

We heard recruits could make money just for taking an unofficial visit to a school. How many times did you take an unofficial visit just to collect some cash?

"I don’t know what you’re talking about."




Posted by LSU Tigerhead
Metairie
Member since Nov 2007
4961 posts
Posted on 1/3/24 at 5:24 pm to
quote:

One team told me if I committed early and helped bring other guys in, they’d give me $40,000 a month up until I signed
Dayam.
Posted by Pikes Peak Tiger
Colorado Springs
Member since Jun 2023
3946 posts
Posted on 1/3/24 at 5:26 pm to
quote:

Nothing related to lsu mentioned


Based on the info on this thread, that seems like a good thing.
Posted by Sterling Archer
Austin
Member since Aug 2012
7325 posts
Posted on 1/3/24 at 5:53 pm to
quote:

Based on the info on this thread, that seems like a good thing


I was hoping one of LSU’s coaches would be one of the nicest
Posted by NewportTiger
Newport Beach, CA
Member since Dec 2019
301 posts
Posted on 1/3/24 at 6:20 pm to
I'm assuming all these players are anonymous?
Posted by Herodijontiger
Myrtle Beach S.C.
Member since Apr 2021
895 posts
Posted on 1/3/24 at 9:00 pm to
Thanks for doing that very interesting. And now we can put the he’s gonna go to the team or school that offers the most NIL money to rest.
Posted by BeachTiger2018
Pinellas County FL
Member since Aug 2022
695 posts
Posted on 1/3/24 at 9:57 pm to
quote:

Talking to Saban felt like talking to a robot. It didn’t feel real.


Posted by Galactic Inquisitor
An Incredibly Distant Star
Member since Dec 2013
15191 posts
Posted on 1/4/24 at 6:14 am to
quote:

Georgia. They’d drive me everywhere and bring me food to my seat during games on my unofficial visits. I went there sometimes just for the free chicken.


Is this not a violation?
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