Jake’s Takes: NIL in recruiting, Jayden Jackson’s recruitment, other Longhorn topics
My storytelling style of writing tends to be long-winded and focused on one particular subject, so I wanted to give myself some flexibility to share random notes as well. With that being said, here’s my first edition of “Jake’s Takes” that I plan to do on a weekly basis.
Jayden Jackson: In my mind, Ohio State made the most sense with Miami a close second. However, from the beginning Jackson was adamant that NFL development was at the forefront of his recruitment. OU defensive line coach Todd Bates and his recent history of developing first rounders had the family’s full attention.
On the day my June article was published, I texted Joe Cook that Oklahoma was my sleeper pick was OU. I heard whispers of Jackson warming up to OU fast, especially with a fellow IMG teammate in his ear but I wanted to leave it alone since the teammate is uncommitted.
Jackson proved to me that his approach was going to be very business-minded once Tennessee, where his cousin Aaron Amaama is on staff, did not make his Top 5. I was told Jackson had a Tennessee commitment graphic ready a few months ago but the family nixed it.
In my April article, I mentioned that “…Jackson lives and plays to make his mother (Alberta) proud.” Uncle Silipa was the spokesman but Alberta was the key cog in this whole process and needed to be won over. Jackson puts Alberta on a very special pedestal and even allowed her to make the announcement for him. This was very much a family decision led by Alberta.
NIL: The role that NIL plays is different with every recruit. Some recruits are overwhelmed and almost shut down at the thought of talking money, some overthink the process to their own detriment, and there’s everything in between.
In some cases, NIL diminishes the need for coaches to completely win over recruits with strong relationships and family atmosphere. As long as the relationships are solid enough and certain boxes are checked, NIL will give you a good shot. Personally, I think Tausili Akana falls into this category and so does Jackson with OU.
One last thought on NIL. It isn’t necessarily about which program is offering the most money. How educated a recruit and his family feels about a program’s NIL process is just as important if not more important. Too many families are walking away from visits with unanswered questions which puts programs behind the eight ball.
Colin Simmons: This is a recruitment where strong relationships and family atmosphere are definitely important. Like myself, Simmons’ family has been affected by Autism. We look at the world in a whole different light. When I see Simmons, I see my daughter Lusia who is a future D1 athlete that has a sibling with special needs.
My son Cannon will never attend college, get married, have children, and will depend on us his entire life. At some point, my daughter will be his caregiver. I worry differently about him than I do about my daughter and Simmons has been very vocal about how important his brother is to him. Coaches increase their chances of success when they can relate to real life, non-football matters and Steve Sarksian has the resources to know how to effectively connect with Autism families like the Simmons.
John Reilly: I don’t follow basketball and had no idea former UT basketball strength coach John Reilly was hired at Ole Miss. Did you know Reilly is Samoan? His sister, Tua, and my sister, Mia, were college volleyball teammates at North Carolina A&T, where they were friends with an A&T football player-turned-coach Torre Becton.
The post Jake’s Takes: NIL in recruiting, Jayden Jackson’s recruitment, other Longhorn topics appeared first on On3.
