College football may be right in the thick of the craziest month in the history of the sport.
With players now being able to profit off their NIL, the rapid news of a major conference realignment, and now current Ohio State commit Quinn Ewers potentially enrolling early to benefit off of NIL has sent shockwaves through the college football landscape.
Ewers is not the first person to do this as people reclassify all the time, for example, J.T. Daniels skipped his senior year at Mater Dei to enroll early at USC.
However, the reason for Daniels and Ewers wanting to enroll early is quite different. Daniels as a person is a lot different than most, especially his maturity level. The Athletic stated how Daniels was extremely mature for his age as result of reading sports psychology and human biology books that had very dense topics for a high schooler. It was a good indication that Daniels was ready for new challenges mentally and athletically.
On the flip side, Ewers very well could be just as ready from a maturity standpoint, but there are reports that NIL is a very major factor into his decision to forgo his senior season at Southlake Carrol.
Yahoo Sports stated that Ewers’ situation was delved into, and there is reportedly a kings ransom available for the bleach blonde mullet sporting quarterback if he leaves high school. In the state of Texas, high school athletes are not allowed to profit off their NIL. The article explained just how much money is within Ewers’ reach if he enrolls in college:
Ewers has emerged as such a precocious and recognizable star that he has the potential to earn nearly a million dollars in the next year by profiting off his Name Image and Likeness. A local company called Holy Kombucha is among those offering a deal to Ewers, and it includes cash and equity in the company. There are several other offers, including national brands.
His parents are worried about him missing out on his senior year, and the repercussions this type of decision could have. Although numerous players have reclassified before, none of them had the following or the legitimate potential to be a millionaire before even practicing with his college team. The article did include Ewers’ current mindset, which is:
“I don’t really know, I don’t have a final decision made quite yet,” Ewers said in a phone interview on Wednesday. “I’m leaning toward leaving and going up to Ohio, just so I don’t have to deal with UIL stuff and can get comfortable with Ohio and Columbus and start to learn.”
Whether Ewers decides to skip high school or not, it sparks the topic of which Texas recruits could benefit by enrolling early, both to make an immediate impact for the team as well as cash in on NIL.
Here are five Texas targets and commits who I feel could benefit by reclassifying from their respective class.