3* 2021 LB Eric Gentry Hits the Portal

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USC currently has more 5*s committed than any other team in the country and it’s just getting started. It is located in a huge market, has a very rich alum base, and is coached by one of the best in the game. I doubt the boogeyman is driving NIL offers.
They are offering (allegedly) a LB that isn’t on anyone Preseason first team AA list a 1M NIL. And this LB had people in his camp saying that it was basically USC and UM that we’re out front. If they had all that in the tuck that you say..then why offer 1M? That’s not the going rate for a tier 2 LB right now. They basically swung for the fences and set the market by themselves. The question is Why? We all have our opinions, I gave mine. It’s up for debate though.
 
They are offering (allegedly) a LB that isn’t on anyone Preseason first team AA list a 1M NIL. And this LB had people in his camp saying that it was basically USC and UM that we’re out front. If they had all that in the tuck that you say..then why offer 1M? That’s not the going rate for a tier 2 LB right now. They basically swung for the fences and set the market by themselves. The question is Why? We all have our opinions, I gave mine. It’s up for debate though.
I just had an interesting convo with a guy directly connected to the CA NIL market. Apparently, contrary to my presumption, USC is struggling big time with its collective.
 
They are offering (allegedly) a LB that isn’t on anyone Preseason first team AA list a 1M NIL. And this LB had people in his camp saying that it was basically USC and UM that we’re out front. If they had all that in the tuck that you say..then why offer 1M? That’s not the going rate for a tier 2 LB right now. They basically swung for the fences and set the market by themselves. The question is Why? We all have our opinions, I gave mine. It’s up for debate though.
Well I would argue based on the limited facts we have that this is exactly as you stated; overpaying for a player because they received bad information about what UM would offer if given the chance. Is it possible that UM’s free-spending reputation is forcing teams to way, way way overpay? I certainly hope so because when those decision come crashing down with acceptable but not stellar results, those school will become gun shy to spend anything in the future.
 
I just had an interesting convo with a guy directly connected to the CA NIL market. Apparently, contrary to my presumption, USC is struggling big time with its collective.
Wouldn't shock me. Not the biggest football town. Takes a winner to get people's attention. Sound familiar? Luckily we have the right connections right now at the right time.
 
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I just had an interesting convo with a guy directly connected to the CA NIL market. Apparently, contrary to my presumption, USC is struggling big time with its collective.
I believe it.

We would be too if not for a few billionaire alumni who also happened to be high school classmates with Mario.

We really have the perfect storm at Miami.

USC might have money but Lincoln isn't a homegrown guy like Mario is
 
I believe it.

We would be too if not for a few billionaire alumni who also happened to be high school classmates with Mario.

We really have the perfect storm at Miami.

USC might have money but Lincoln isn't a homegrown guy like Mario is

I'm a little shocked to be honest. How do you bring one of the Big Swinging ****s of college football as your head coach and not have your financial house in order? USC stumbling at the finish line, and UCLA doing everything in their power to stay irrelevant. Really surprising.
 
I'm a little shocked to be honest. How do you bring one of the Big Swinging ****s of college football as your head coach and not have your financial house in order? USC stumbling at the finish line, and UCLA doing everything in their power to stay irrelevant. Really surprising.
Heard they are in danger of losing that QB recruit. Lot of unhappy guys in the locker room who want to get paid. Again, 180 from what I presumed.
 
I believe it.

We would be too if not for a few billionaire alumni who also happened to be high school classmates with Mario.

We really have the perfect storm at Miami.

USC might have money but Lincoln isn't a homegrown guy like Mario is
This is an underrated take I haven't seen discussed. This is a homecoming for Mario. People are rallying around him. Plus, like you said, the big money is all personally/emotionally invested. Ruiz is freakin' related (via marriage) to Mario. That's why I laugh when I hear "What will happen when Ruiz gets sick of Mario?" Nothing. At all. Riley is a huge get, but he doesn't have those personal local connections and he's not coming home to save his alma mater. He's from Texas. Not as easy to get the big money behind you like it was for Mario. Not saying he won't succeed, but it's definitely more of an advantage for Miami at the moment.
 
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This is an underrated take I haven't seen discussed. This is a homecoming for Mario. People are rallying around him. Plus, like you said, the big money is all personally/emotionally invested. Ruiz is freakin' related (via marriage) to Mario. That's why I laugh when I hear "What will happen when Ruiz gets sick of Mario?" Nothing. At all. Riley is a huge get, but he doesn't have those personal local connections and he's not coming home to save his alma mater. He's from Texas. Not as easy to get the big money behind you like it was for Mario. Not saying he won't succeed, but it's definitely more of an advantage for Miami at the moment.
Football is also more culturally important here than it is in California. But they do have sheer numbers, as many have pointed out.
 
Both schools headed in the right direction for sure. If we can both bounce back to CFP level, it significantly brings down the SEC.
Absolutely.

Pate is spot on with this. Head to head recruiting battles are part of those margins that make the difference. If you win a few vis-a-vis the SEC, it's a zero-sum game for those players: literally our gain and their loss.

Do it several times, and there's a serious change in CFB competition.
 
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This is an underrated take I haven't seen discussed. This is a homecoming for Mario. People are rallying around him. Plus, like you said, the big money is all personally/emotionally invested. Ruiz is freakin' related (via marriage) to Mario. That's why I laugh when I hear "What will happen when Ruiz gets sick of Mario?" Nothing. At all. Riley is a huge get, but he doesn't have those personal local connections and he's not coming home to save his alma mater. He's from Texas. Not as easy to get the big money behind you like it was for Mario. Not saying he won't succeed, but it's definitely more of an advantage for Miami at the moment.
I was thinking about this.

What coach have you seen unite a program like this? I can't think of one that has united the entire generations of fans and players and even former coaches like Mario has at Miami. He's like the link from Schnellenberger to the glory years of the early 2000s (nobody cares about the years after that).

Maybe Harbaugh at Michigan initially?

Who else? Frost at Nebraska?
 
I'm a little shocked to be honest. How do you bring one of the Big Swinging ****s of college football as your head coach and not have your financial house in order? USC stumbling at the finish line, and UCLA doing everything in their power to stay irrelevant. Really surprising.

I thought there were two billionaires who essentially made Lincoln possible by agreeing to pay most of it including the buyout. Similar to what is happening at Michigan State with their two billionaires.
 
I was thinking about this.

What coach have you seen unite a program like this? I can't think of one that has united the entire generations of fans and players and even former coaches like Mario has at Miami. He's like the link from Schnellenberger to the glory years of the early 2000s (nobody cares about the years after that).

Maybe Harbaugh at Michigan initially?

Who else? Frost at Nebraska?
I don't even think Harbaugh did that. Maybe Saban to Bama? They were struggling bad before he showed. I don't remember what the initial reaction was, though. In all honesty, there has been NOTHING like this because part of the shock has been the NIL game and we are playing with the big boys now on every front.
 
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I thought there were two billionaires who essentially made Lincoln possible by agreeing to pay most of it including the buyout. Similar to what is happening at Michigan State with their two billionaires.
Don’t know anything about that; but I would say that paying for a coach, through donations to the school, presents tax benefits that NIL sponsorships or capital contributions to collectives would not. I think a lot of big money is much more comfortable supporting programs through donations to the school than buying players through these novel collective arrangements.
 
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Cyrus Moss and Eric Gentry meeting each other at UM
 
Don’t know anything about that; but I would say that paying for a coach, through donations to the school, presents tax benefits that NIL sponsorships or capital contributions to collectives would not. I think a lot of big money is much more comfortable supporting programs through donations to the school than buying players through these novel collective arrangements.
But if NIL is done as it should be, for marketing, that should be a business expense, which helps with taxes too.
 
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