Hey brother, Riley is in a tough situation. He’s having to choose between NIL (legal bags), personal relationships and under the table bag game plus NIL’s. He’s not concerned if Miami takes 3 TE’s. He’s a competitor. He was told Miami had plans to take 3 TE’s in this class. They are expecting to lose 2 TE’s.
Ohio State and Oregon are negatively recruiting against Miami. Alabama’s bag game and their network of givers are astonishing. There are NO handlers. It’s his decision. His family trusts his decision because he’s the one who has to live with it. He LOVES Mario and he has a great relationship with him. He said he texted Mario at 2:30 in the morning to see if he would respond and 20 minutes later he got a message from Mario asking if everything was alright.
What he’s being offered would cloud the judgement of most adults let a lone a young man his age. He’s never asked me for my advice, but his mom has. I explained to her that genuine relationships matter. They can last a life time if nurtured. The University of Miami has a brotherhood like no other. She confirmed that with the number of Miami LEGENDS that’s reached out to them.
I simply ended the conversation by saying Miami can offer everything those other schools are offering, but those other schools can’t offer what Miami can offer and that’s the relationship her son has with Mario and the established and well documented brotherhood that Miami has among it’s former and current players. The other schools are playing catch-up in the relationship department.
Ohio State is RUTHLESS. Mario is relentless. A lucrative NIL deal matters to Riley for sure. I’m not sure where he stands on the under the table bag game. I think Riley’s relationship with Mario gets Mario the ‘W’. IMO