In this week’s version of the mailbag we tackle NIL in college sports. I love the queston about X-Factors. That could have gone a lot of different ways. DJ Pickett’s struggles made the cut, and how long will Coach O be here?
This format has been well-received, so I may make it a weekly segment. Feel free to reach out on X @HuntPalmer88 with your questions, and I’ll tackle them moving forward.
Let’s geaux.
Hunt,
What’s your take on NIL and the crazy amount of money these 17-21 y.o. are making? What can be done to restore integrity and ethics in college sports….if we ever had it at all?
I’ll start with this. When the lights come on, do you care how much money the running back or point guard has in his checking account? If you’re not one of the boosters cutting the checks, who really cares? You could also argue that there has been shaky integrity in not just college sports but all of sports forever. Black Sox, steroids, point shaving, beating trash cans, blood doping, impermissible payments of players, escorts on recruiting weekends. The Clippers set up a fake tree company to duck the salary cap, for goodness’ sake.
I’m curious how sustainable $40 and $50 million rosters are annually. I’m very much for college athletes being paid. If Jayden Daniels wants to leave the Heisman stage and grab a box of Cane’s for some cash, that’s well-earned. If Derek Curiel wants to sign autographs, take picture or give hitting lessons, great. The $3 million for a high school wide out who might transfer after a nine-catch season doesn’t bother me as much as it feels unsustainable. Then again, so do $54 million buyouts, and they keep happening.
What about a surprise x factor, one for offense and one for defense. Who’s gonna make an impact that nobody is talking about?
“Nobody” is a strong word, but I’ll take that as “nobody nationally” since the local beat covers things pretty closely.
On defense, I think Deuce Geralds could start the first game. He’s absolutely going to play. Dominick McKinley, Stephiylan Green and Malik Blocton are older, but that trio hasn’t exactly starred on the field. Geralds is super quick and disruptive, and the national/regional media might not be onto the true freshman.
On offense, Dilin Jones is probably too well-known, so I’ll go with Jackson Harris. I’d put Jayce Brown and Winnie Watkins ahead of him in the wide receiver pecking order, but I think the Hawaii transfer is going to make some big plays and score some touchdowns.
Where does DJ Pickett rank amongst the top cornerbacks in the SEC? How should we look at the performance he had against Houston in the bowl game?
Pickett had an awesome freshman season. Playing cornerback as a true freshman is really, really hard. It becomes harder when the guy on the other sideline is the best in the country.
Pickett’s worst two games, to me, were Ole Miss, where he gave up a big play and had a costly pass interference, and Houston. The Cougars went at him seven times for five catches, 62 yards and two touchdowns.
A freshman is allowed a couple of bad games. His coverage grade per PFF was 76.2. That’s great. He only allowed a 52.6 percent completion rate and had three interceptions. I can’t pretend to be able to go team by team to break down the corners, but LSU’s duo of Pickett and PJ Woodland would rank highly. I’m confident in that.
I love that Coach O is back on the staff. How long can that last and what are the risks?
I don’t see much of a risk. He’s not going to do media and probably learned his social media lesson at the end of his time at head coach. He’s married now and just wants to be a part of football. I think he’d love to be a head coach again one day. I have my doubts about that happening. If he wants to host some recruits, work on pass rush drills and be part of a team, I think it’s great.
He’s 64-years-old. I could see him doing it for another four or five years.
