Brazos21

I hear you. In Sark we trust. I just don't understand how Sark can be a closer when there is no money to allocate. He can't just make it up. I have my doubts for this year's class. I do think the market resets next year when there is no more frontloading (a one time anomaly). PS...I love your idea of a floating rev share number...maybe a set percentage of AD annual revenue....no way Rice should have same budget for Rev Share as UT.

@Gerry Hamilton @Bobby Burton @CJ Vogel I think some of the nervous nellies out here (at times, me included) are worried that the "don't worry just look at the last few years...believe in Sark" panacea might not be the case this year. As you clearly stated, this year is different. There is a House Settlement to contend with. There are rules in place we've never had before. So, the "business as usual" response to this recruiting cycle, to me, is overly optimistic. As I've stated elsewhere, the math doesn't add up for us. The 2026 roster will have at least 17 super blue chips from existing players that will probably get close to $1 million each (on average)...then add in new 2026 transfer portal players and add the 2026 recruits. How in the world can all of that be covered by $17 million in Rev Share (I assume a number close to that for football next year)? It's easy to say "no worries, NIL will cover the rest"...but that is totally without merit. At this point, no one knows how the clearninghouse will work. So, what are we telling recruits today? Seems we can only make promises that might not come true. I think the results of this recruiting cycle reflect our inability (and transparency) to guarantee a certain $$ level...unlike the assertions made by other schools. Most of our money will be tied up with existing players. Unfortunatley, it doesn't appear that the Texas One Fund frontloaded our existing roster, which Texas Tech apparently did. That would have freed up Rev Share dollars for new recruits. So, in the end, I don't think this December will look like previous years. We aren't going to all of a sudden find a bunch of money. We aren't all of a sudden going to guarantee future dollars...and all those schools out there will continue to take advantage of promises that might not come true...probably banking on the entire settlement being thrown out as unworkable. Who knows???

@Bobby Burton @Gerry HamiltonAnother site did a deep dive into current roster economics. Basically concluded that 2026 we will likely have 17 super blue chips on roster…two of which get $$ outside of rev sharing…so 15…if you sssume on average $1 million per, that leaves $2 million (assuming some rev share goes to other sports) for 2026 recruits and non super blue chips on 2026 roster…this just doesn’t work. How in the world are we going to take care of new recruits? Our retained roster is simply too expensive e to recruit at a high level? Thoughts?

I think we might have dodged a bullet. I never liked all the public statements he made about being #1 target, best in the country, going up to rivals to dominate, etc...He seemed to have bought in to the hype and didn't back it up. He might develop...but the mental profile to me didn't match what we are looking for in serious 5 star recruits. Compare to John Turntine journey...Take Turntine all day.

We are losing recruiting battles to schools with rosters just as loaded as ours. And, according to Callicut, we are offering more NIL and still losing.

Is anyone getting this on espn+

Says hasn't started yet...what a joke

not showing up on ESPN+ app

How to watch in Houston?

@Bobby Burton I bought tickets for the Vanderbilt game in October. Need some recommendations for hotels and any info on OTF tailgating events.

Guys, I feel like my original post generated some pretty negative posts and a need for Gerry to defend the process. As my original post noted, I never said Gerry or OTF was gaslighting or being anything but honest and hardworking. I pointed the finger at agent and kids (and probably family members). My exact observation was: "I think kids and agents are using services like this to spread false info and create demand to raise NIL…and we as subscribers are the “victims” … hard to believe recruiting nuggets and HI’s at this point…" I stand by this. I think the job of Gerry and others in this business is made even more difficult because now there is enormous incentive for others to embellish, lie, etc. to drive up fan interest, fan demand to specific players which then helps drive up NIL. So, they might give signs of a "Hi" so outlets talk about them and promote them, only to drive up the price of another destination. So, sorry if somehow what I said was a dispersion to Gerry and OTF...it wasn't.

I think kids and agents are using services like this to spread false info and create demand to raise NIL…and we as subscribers are the “victims” … hard to believe recruiting nuggets and HI’s at this point…

But but we’ve been in contact this week….LOL…recruiting coverage and “intel” just seems to be off this cycle.

well, on the good side of things. We should have lots of money to spend if we’re willing to spend it.

Feels like when hiring a position coach players value coaches who PUT players in the NFL more than coaches that have been assistants in the NFL. I think Sark took a flyer for DL coach...and it's not paying off right now. Needs a splash hire from a splash program...in this day and age, headlines matter, buzz, etc...not necessarily logic.