Steve Sarkisian considers how NCAA lawsuits, NIL laws could impact recruiting

As coaches around the country worked to finalize their classes during Wednesday’s National Signing Day, a legal cloud hovered over. The highest-profile lawsuit comes from a court in Tennessee, where the state’s attorney general – along with West Virginia’s – are challenging the NCAA’s rules about NIL and recruiting.

Current policy states coaches cannot discuss NIL in recruiting, and collectives can’t get involved, either. However, it remains a big part of the conversation about the recruiting landscape. While a judge denied a temporary restraining order that would have allowed prospects to communicate with NIL collectives during their recruitment. There continue to be more and more questions about how recruiting will continue to change.

To Texas’ Steve Sarkisian, he’s trying to keep his focus on the present as he puts the finishing touches on his top-10 recruiting class. That said, he remains steadfast about how he thinks NIL should factor into decisions.

“I think it’s a slippery slope when you’re talking about building a culture and building a team of how much you pour into that other side of this thing and how much NIL and all that because the reality of it is – I’ve said this all along – I want players to want to come to the University of Texas because of all of the right reasons,” Sarkisian said Wednesday. “The history and tradition, the campus, Austin, Texas, the power of the degree, the quality of players around them, the coaching staff, all those things. If you’re not coming for those reasons, you’re not going to be happy. It’s not going to work out for you.

“Quite frankly, any school you choose for not the right reasons, it never works out, and then you look up a year or two from now and they’re the same guys that are in the transfer portal. We have to be mindful of that, and we have to really see the signs and listen for what’s important to them – whether it’s the high school recruiting or the transfer recruiting – to keep our culture as sacred as we want to keep it.”

The NCAA recently made a ruling against Florida State regarding offensive coordinator Alex Atkins’ alleged role in driving a recruit to a meeting with a collective. Two more investigations into Florida and Tennessee are also ongoing, reportedly including the high-profile recruitments of Jaden Rashada and Nico Iamaleava.

Meanwhile, the case in Tennessee is still going through the process, as well. While the TRO was denied, the judge said the two states’ merits are likely to succeed, and a preliminary injunction hearing is set for Feb. 13, On3’s Pete Nakos reported.

Steve Sarkisian: You’ve got to have the ability to ‘adapt and grow with the changing times’ in college football

Even though he’s still focusing on present, Steve Sarkisian wants to make sure Texas is ahead of the curve. He recently announced multiple moves on the recruiting staff, including naming Brandon Harris as the program’s first-ever general manager.

It’s part of the adapt-or-die mindset that’s becoming common across college football with NIL and the transfer portal playing such prominent roles.

“I try not to forecast too, too much because I know how important the now is for what we’re doing,” Sarkisian said. “But I think that’s why you see a little bit of the adjustment that we’re making, even in our own recruiting department, of what that’s going to look like. So I’m not totally naive to where this thing could go. But I also know that I don’t want to be thinking about ’25, ’26, 27 when I think we got a chance to be a pretty good team in ’24.

“I’ve said it all along, you’ve just got to have the ability to adapt and to grow with the changing times in real time as they come at you. And there’s a lot of things moving at us fast right now in college football. Honestly, I try to be aware of it. Okay, there’s a change, how do we adjust, how do we benefit most from it? And then, keep moving forward.”