As I have mentioned previously, IU had a huge amount of portal transfers (31-32, something like that). This happened because they had a big commitment to NIL, which was initiated by Mark Cuban and Fred Luddy (Service Now AI Bigwig). Here is an excerpt from Cignetti’s interview with NBC Sports, where he discussed how he rebuilt the team, so quickly, after the exodus when the previous coach left:

The things that are important to success are different now than they were 10 years ago,” Cignetti said in an interview this week. “NIL is a big thing. Collectives. You can’t compete if you don’t have it — and have enough of it. There was a commitment there (IU), and it grew and grew and grew. It allowed us to get done what we had to get done (with our roster) in December. It would have been very difficult to fill a football team with all the guys that left. That’s what you see nowadays, more and more. When the coach leaves, there are guys leaving.”

We are going to need a heck of a lot more than 350 donors to Savage Wolves, if we want DD to be successful in the NIL era. If we don’t step up, we have no right to complain about the results.

Florida, which is 4-4 against a brutal schedule, is bringing back coach Billy Napier. The Gators don't have a president after Ben Sasse's departure, and would owe Napier a reported $26 million buyout.

I was thinking this morning that in light of NIL and the transfer portal, it really doesn't make sense to pay head coaches crazy money and have contracts longer than 3-4 years. The old argument is that you needed a five-year deal, or one with a rollover year, for recruiting but that is old thinking. And if these schools are crying poor and manipulating everything to get nickels, then ADs have to adjust with the buyouts.

Some numbers being thrown around for buyouts, with some in that Jimbo Fisher territory of $75 million at Texas A&M: Not saying all these coaches are on the hot seat, but it just goes to show how useless schools are in contract negotiations.

Lincoln Riley might have $90 million owed at USC. The Trojans are 4-5.

Brent Venables would be owed $44.8 million by Oklahoma. The Sooners are 5-4.

Brian Kelly has $60 million at LSU. The Tigers are 7-2.

James Franklin has $56.7 million at Penn State. The Nittany Lions are 7-1.

MIke Norvell has $63.8 million owed at Florida State. The Seminoles are 1-7.

West Virginia CB commit Serious Stinyard to check out NC State​

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