Lincoln Riley: Lack of NIL rules has ‘completely changed’ college football recruiting

Lower than a yr after the NCAA opened the floodgates for faculty athletes to be compensated for using their identify, picture and likeness, Lincoln Riley barely acknowledges what the recruiting panorama has turn out to be.

“It’s utterly modified it,” Riley stated Saturday. “In each sense of the phrase, it’s totally different.”

USC’s new coach has frequently voiced his approval of athletes profiting off of their identify, picture and likeness. However he’s been a vocal critic since final summer time of the unintended penalties that adopted the NCAA’s choice to throw up its arms close to guidelines governing a brand new panorama that has radically modified school soccer.

Final July, at Huge 12 media day, Riley stated he felt, within the absence of common guidelines, coaches had been “frolicked to dry.”

Ever since, it’s turn out to be a race to use that lack of guidelines on the recruiting path. Simply as Riley and others anticipated.

“There was little doubt it was going to seep into recruiting in some unspecified time in the future,” Riley stated. “I believe anyone that cares about school soccer just isn’t actual happy with that as a result of that wasn’t the intention, all of us get that. Lots of people voiced considerations when NIL got here up that there needed to be a plan for that, and as an alternative we instituted NIL with none plan for that, in order that’s why we’re at the place we’re at. I’m certain in some unspecified time in the future there’s going to be a market correction, if you’ll, with recruiting. Hopefully there will likely be, as a result of in an ideal world they keep separate.”

It doesn’t seem like trending in that path any time quickly. The Athletic just lately reported that one five-star quarterback within the class of 2023 had signed an NIL settlement with a recruiting collective that might pay him as much as $8 million by his junior yr on the college.

Requested about that particular report, Riley reiterated his help for athletes profiting off of NIL, however stated he felt such offers had been “not good for this sport.”

“It was going to occur, and truthfully, in all probability good that one thing that outrageous occurred as quickly because it did as a result of I believe it shines a reasonably shiny mild on, we’ve obtained one thing right here we want to check out,” Riley stated. “I believe we’ve obtained sufficient individuals on the market the place we will determine a greater, smoother path that may separate the 2. Once more, absolutely supportive of fellows having the ability to earn money off their identify, picture and likeness. Totally supportive of that, regardless of the place they’re at, however it shouldn’t be part of recruiting. They must know what alternatives are there that the present gamers are getting, certain, completely — yeah, you need to know that. However these guarantees which can be made when guys are in highschool, man, it’s simply not good for the sport.”