FAU's Tom Herman utilized connection with former Ohio State QB Cardale Jones for NIL help

Florida Atlantic head coach Tom Herman took over the reins of the program last season as the Owls jumped from Conference USA to the American Athletic Conference.

Herman’s last head coaching gig was at Texas in 2020, but since then the responsibilities of head coaches have changed drastically in a new era of college football highlighted by NIL, the transfer portal, and how both impact recruiting.

FAU has become one of many athletic departments to start an NIL collective, with the Paradise Collective launching last summer. And with one of Herman’s former players Cardale Jones being heavily involved in the NIL space, On3’s Andy Staples asked Herman on Wednesday if he went to him for some guidance.

“Believe it or not the answer to that question is yes,” Herman said. “Cardale has actually flown to Boca as a consultant if you will with our collective and we talk regularly and bounce ideas off of each other.”

Herman spent three seasons as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Ohio State before becoming the head coach at Texas. A tenure that was capped off by a 2014 National Championship win led by Jones, who started the final three games of the season following injuries to Braxton Miller and J.T. Barrett.

Since then Jones has kept himself busy, starting the Cardale Jones Fund for Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Research, co-founding Plus Two University (a gym/physical fitness center), and serving as the Chief Talent Officer of Ten Talents NIL.

“He’s got a lot of irons in the fire, and Michelle and I are invested in some of those still in Columbus, and shoutout to Plus 2 Training out there in Columbus, Ohio,” Herman added.

Jones was publicly a vocal advocate for the passage of Senate Bill 187 (NIL) when it was presented to Ohio lawmakers, wanting current collegiate athletes to capitalize on their name, image, and likeness as something he couldn’t do during his time at Ohio State.

According to their website, Ten Talents NIL builds and protects the success of athletes by providing public relations, marketing, legal, crisis management, and training to build a successful legacy on and off the field. With Jones surrounding and protecting Ohio student athletes as they form business relationships, setting the standard for professionalism, expertise, legal, and management of NIL opportunities in his role.

“Cardale’s doing great up there in Columbus and is really thinking outside the box too when it comes to collectives as well,” Herman said.

Jones is doing his part in advocating for student-athletes, while also helping Herman do the same in Boca Raton with the evolving landscape that is collegiate athletics.