Five-star treatment at the Four Seasons, it's how you land Arch Manning | KEN WILLIS
Hey, innkeepers gotta pay bills, too.
If you look at it that way, you might feel better.
There’s been a lot of head-shaking and the usual amount of disgust after learning details of big-school largesse during recruits’ visits to good ol’ State U.
Kinda makes you miss earlier times, when the “dirt” involved rumors of schools hiring teams of weekend chaperones to help lure prized footballers using methods that date back to Eden.
These days, Johnny Football needs to be wined and dined a bit. Oh, and so do Mr. and Mrs. Johnny, and maybe Uncle Joe, who’s moving kinda slow, which will happen when your presidential suite has 24/7 catering.
The new-age arms race in college football has evolved, and quickly. In recent memory, it began with the escalation of head-coaching salaries, and eventually with big increases for the assistants, particularly the coordinators. Even high-profile conditioning coaches were becoming high-priced commodities.
Next came facilities. Not just improvements to stadiums, but the pouring of tens of millions into the places athletes spend most of their time — the “football facility,” including an indoor practice field, and 5-star clubhouses with all the combined amenities of a Scottsdale spa and Chuck E. Cheese.
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The seismic change, of course, was NIL, with Johnny suddenly able to (legally) cash in on his name, image and likeness (still waiting for someone to sign a six-figure “likeness deal,” by the way). The NIL, arm in arm with the transfer portal, ended any semblance of the college football infrastructure with which we grew up and grew old(er).
So we should feel silly to have our heads turned by the figures uncovered regarding today’s recruiting process.
The Athletic recently reported on Arch Manning’s recruiting weekend in Austin, where he and his family were guests of the Texas Longhorns. Eight other recruits were also given the star treatment for a weekend — treatment totaling $280,000. The Four Seasons Austin and catered suites ain’t cheap.
There was also a night at Top Golf, a photo shoot at the Longhorns’ stadium, fine dining, and even a breakfast at coach Steve Sarkisian’s house. He must make a great omelette, because a few days later Arch — nephew of Peyton and Eli — announced his commitment to Texas. So did three others, so far, from the nine who visited that weekend.
The following weekend brought in 14 more recruits, a bill of $350,000, and afterward, 12 more commitments, according to The Athletic.
And just like that, in places like Gainesville, Tuscaloosa, Clemson and Columbus, official solicitations were cast-netted to the usual suspects from the alumni pool, suggesting an influx of recruiting resources will be needed to keep up with the Joneses and Sarkisians.
And the call will be answered, because few things are as necessary to a booster than young men who can help win championships.
Here’s hoping all the out-of-work chaperones got decent severances.
The Picks
Florida-Tennessee hasn’t been very big since the early years of this century. For the first 15 years after this became an annual get-together in 1990, the Gators and Vols routinely entered the weekend ranked among the top 10, and often the top 5.
This year they come in at No. 11 (UT) and No. 20 (UF), with the Gators’ ranking feeling paper-thin after the past two weeks. Also, after opening with three games at home, the Gators will deal with everything 100,000 starved UT faithful can rain down upon them.
Billy Napier, the new Head Gator, tried to downplay it. “It's not like we're going to Canada and they're going to change the rules," he said.
It might feel that way, however. UT’s Josh Heupel still uses a fast-paced offense — the Canadian Football League uses a 20-second play clock. The CFL also has 12-man units on offense and defense, and a one-day waiver to field a 12th player might be the only way the Gators survive this one — Tennessee by 8.
• Elsewhere: Wake upsets Climpson; FSU over BC; North Carolina over Notre Dame in OT; UCF by just a few over Georgia Tech; Michigan big over Maryland; Four Seasons Austin by 20 over Texas Tech; Texas A&M mildly upsets Arkansas; Ohio State by a bunch over Wisconsin; Purdue by just 6 over FAU; ’Bama by just 42 over Vandy; and up in Lewiston, just a couple of go-routes from the Androscoggin River, the visiting Tufts Jumbos by 9 over the Bobcats of Bates.
BTW: I can hear your gears turning. “Lewiston, Maine? Hmmm …” Yep, the place where Muhammad Ali “knocked out” Sonny Liston in their 1965 rematch. Hate to dampen the conspiracy, but a punch landed. Not sure it would’ve broken an egg, but all the same, I wouldn’t have signed up for it.
Oh, Jumbos? Long story short, it comes from P.T. Barnum’s prized elephant, Jumbo, and a museum Barnum built at Tufts’ Boston campus. Today’s ubiquitous usage of the word “jumbo” can be traced back to P.T.’s prized pachyderm — skip further research, the story doesn’t end well.
— Reach Ken Willis at ken.willis@news-jrnl.com
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Arch Manning thanks Longhorns for Four Seasons' five-star treatment
