Today we had the phone interview with Jay Paterno, son of legendary college football coach Joe Paterno, from Penn State University…
Jay was an assistant coach for his dad, at Penn State, and he coached college football for over 30 years…He currently has a new book out, “Blitzed”, on the pressures of college football and the recruiting process…He has also done a ton of college football consulting over the years…
On the Transfer Portal and the NIL Money??? Jay says when a kid signs for college out of high school, the decision needs to be permanent…There is too much jumping back-and-forth…College coaches and college football programs are getting derailed since there is no true commitment on the part of the football players that sign with the colleges…
There needs to be a binding contract between the football player and the college they sign with…More and more, they are trying to make the sport like a business, so let’s take this a step further, and make it a business deal…You sign with that X-team, then you are obligated by contract to stay with that team…Right now, Early Signing means you have signed, but there is no guarantee that you will be with that same team, one year later…
The Transfer Portal has become and Enhancement….Jay also says there is no leadership or structure governing the Transfer Portal or the NIL money….Kids can leave schools to go get more money at another school…At times high school coaches are in on the deal, where they tell a college, “I can get you this kid to leave and come to your school/college”, and in turn the college will grease the high school coaches hands with special and friendly incentives…
Jay again tell us that there needs to be a Collective Bargaining Agreement set up, where you must have a binding contract between the player and his college…Must have a contract or with the Transfer Portal and the NIL Money too, the college landscape is like the old Wild, Wild West…There may be a deal on the table where a kid can get $500,000 to a million dollars to go to a certain college and in many cases, there can be incentive packages where if take your team to good bowl game, more money will be coming your way….
Jay Paterno continues to stress that there is NO Leadership or true governing body keeping a checks and balances on the NIL Money, and to a certain degree on the Transfer Portals….The current college football system, has NO Structure…
Another problem with the Transfer Portal is that colleges will be getting new kids in and with the 105 player limit, they end up having to cut some guys loose…So there are no guarantees for the fringe players, walk-ons who earn scholarships, and others to keep their spots….And then the Mid-Major College have to be on the watch to see who is coming available with the release of the higher-level players…
No Structure in the current system…
NIL and Transfer Portal Risks??? Jay says there is starting to be huge mental health risk involved with the NIL Money deals…The colleges have professionalized the sport of college football, and the fun part for kids playing college football is GONE….It is not kids being kids and playing football any more….College football has become a profession and therefore there are going to be many Mental Health issues effecting the kids/young men and their families…The families also face the risk of scammers trying to come in and be the handlers for the recruited football players, and the scammers and handlers are looking to grab a huge cut/chunk of the kids’ NIL Money…This is a very big danger facing the college football landscape today, and parents and families can’t totally be sure who to trust…You are talking millions of dollars floating around in NIL incentive money, and there are plenty of glad-handlers out there, who can wait to get their hands on your kids NIL money…
Too many loose wheels out in the overall college football landscape, and Jay Paterno drops in the “Wild, Wild West” reference again…Sort of like the old days of the Wild West, where everyone was out there, trying to get their hands on that “Pot of Gold”….
So Jay Paterno says you better be careful about who you bring in, to help with your son’s recruitment, and his college signing….Lots of folks out there, trying to jump on the Band Wagon, and get a cut of what your son has earned….To get things done right, get outside true professional help, to help you look at the contracts, and don’t sign anything, until you have trustworthy professional advice and guidance…
College football has become a business, and to survive you better make sure you have correctly dotted all the right i-s, and crossed the right t-s….There is loose money flying around, and if you don’t watch out, somebody will have your money, in their pocket….
Jay Paterno on Joe Pa/Joe Paterno…There was only one Joe Paterno…People could call me Jay-Pa, but it would not be the same…My dad made all of his assistant coaches wear a coat and tie, on all recruiting trips…He took a professional-like approach to all that he did in coaching…Dad told us to make sure the players knew this RULE….To be considered “On Time”, you had to be “Five Minutes Early”…Joe Paterno was a Coaches Coach, and he expected his coaches to do, and be the same…Jay Paterno coached for his dad, as an assistant coach at Penn State, for several years…
Jay Paterno on Franco Harris, Lydell Mitchell, John Cappelletti, and Matt Millen….Franco Harris was the Greatest person ever…Franco and Lydell Mitchell were life-long friends…At Penn State, Lydell was more of the running standout, and Franco more of the blocker…In the pros, their roles got sort of switched, and Franco became a super running back, with runs first…Lydell got with a team, Baltimore, and the Colts did not have the same success that Franco’s Pittsburgh Steelers had…
John Cappelletti was the Heisman Trophy Winner from Penn State, and Jay Paterno said he has a photo of #22 John Cappelletti in every office he has ever worked in…So much respect for what John Cappelletti was able to do for PSU…Matt Millen was a defensive tackle at Penn State, and he became an All-Pro linebacker when he hit the NFL…Matt Millen did so many different things and he was a real talent, and student of the game…
Jay Paterno’s book, Blitzed, on the pressures of current College Football, is available at jayvpaterno.com, and on Amazon.com….Great read, and we thank Jay Paterno for his time today….Would make a great Christmas present, for that special person on Your List…..