Monthly Archives: November 2019

What Could Joey Slye Have Done Differently?

27 Wednesday Nov 2019

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Panthers’ rookie Joey Slye has made 19 field goals in 2019.

He hasn’t missed from between 30-39 yards. He’s made six kicks from beyond 50 yards, tying him with Graham Gano for the most 50+ makes in a single Panthers’ season. After last Sunday’s 34-31 loss to division rival New Orleans, however, he may be out of a job.

Slye missed two extra points and a field goal with two minutes left, all wide to the right. The Panthers lost by three to the Saints, an outcome that essentially ended the team’s playoff hopes. Slye confessed he “felt terrible” about the result, and while teammates were supportive of the rookie, the Panthers announced on Monday that they’ll be holding kicking tryouts – a sign the team’s coaching staff doesn’t have much patience for his struggles.

What could Slye have done differently? And is there anything he can do to recover? We asked Donovan Martin of Ft. Wayne, Ind.-based Traction Athletic Performance what he would recommend to a placekicker struggling with in-game anxiety.

Here’s how kickers can maintain focus, enter the zone, and nail kicks.

  • Don’t focus on results

Kicking is as much about regulating anxiety as it is about nailing mechanics. If you focus on the results, your head will start spinning with the gravity of the situation and your anxiety will throw your mechanics for a loop. It’s like rock climbing or walking a high wire; you don’t look down and you don’t think about what will happen if you make a mistake. You focus on the next step or the hold in front of you.

Envision a perfectly executed process and control what you can control.

  • Don’t overanalyze

Slye’s mind was on his mechanics after the game. “If I’m pushing right, it usually means I’m planting too deep,” Slye said, according to the Panthers’ official website. “My heel was past the ball, that’s going to leave my hips open to miss right.”

He’s right, but the knowledge didn’t help. Actually, Slye was probably too worried about mechanics when he lined up for that final field goal.

You drill mechanics every day. Trust them. Fixing them in-game is nearly impossible because it introduces thinking into a process that should be automatic, leaving room for doubt and anxiety. Envision nailing the process. Don’t pick apart your mechanics.

  • Know how to enter ‘the zone’

The best way to regulate the zone is through routine.

Like golfers or free-throw shooters, kickers need to make what they do repeatable. You should have a sequence of events leading up to the kick that allows you to lock in. And you need to have the focus to not let that routine be disturbed by any distractions –- even a previous missed kick.

Entering the zone can also be facilitated by practicing mindfulness or meditation. These practices can help to mitigate distractions (something kickers must excel at), allowing your unconscious mind to regulate the kick.

  • Mental training helps

As Slye revealed on Sunday, performing under pressure is difficult. Mental toughness is a necessity. For Slye (and maybe for you), the good news is that it can be improved.

Donovan Martin can teach you how to practice and apply the focus required to set up a sequence, turn off the anxiety and doubt, and enter the zone to confidently execute every kick with peak performance.

What I’ve Learned About The College Recruiting Community

21 Thursday Nov 2019

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For the last three months, I’ve been crisscrossing Texas meeting with people in the college recruiting, personnel, operations and analytics community (which I’ll call the recruiting community in today’s post). It’s been a pleasure getting to know them.

To a man, they are impressive and knowledgeable. Many have been receptive to the ITL Recruiting Symposium that’s ahead in Fort Worth Jan. 3-4, and others haven’t (for good reasons). Either way, it’s been very educational. Here are some of the things I’ve learned.

  • They are smart, hard-working, passionate and love football: But you already knew that.
  • Most people at the “executive level” of college football operations are in their late 30s and 40s: This was a real revelation to me. I guess I’ve gotten used to the idea of these departments being populated by young grinders, and to some extent, that’s true. But the ones driving them are often approaching middle age.
  • Evaluation has been devalued: Maybe one or two of the schools I’ve met with have a formal evaluation training protocol. The lion’s share do not. Some just try to identify volunteers who played in high school. Some have monthly scouting sessions where a coach tries to impart wisdom. Others just figure they’ll take whatever they get from their volunteers and low-level employees. The thing is, in college, at least, there’s a long bridge between identifying good players and actually signing them.
  • They are intimately aware of the value of “sex appeal:” These people know that flash sells. They know young people prize this. In fact, you could almost draw a line between the schools that have multiple employees on the graphic design side and those who have volunteers, or just one designer. Those who’ve fully committed to the Photoshop and social media artisans are having more success. This lesson was ingrained in me even more after I asked people in the industry whether they’d rather hire an ex-NFL scout or a bullet-proof graphic designer. The results were unanimous and one-sided.
  • They aren’t as awed by the NFL as I thought they would be: There are a lot of reasons for that. One, I think most realize that if they aren’t scouting assistants by the time they’re 26-27, it’s probably too late. Two, they realize their skillsets are not really in evaluation, and they are loathe to start over. Three, their salaries are creeping up, and they’re starting families. Four, they know that getting NFL opportunities is often as much about who you know as it is how good you are.
  • They are not as beholden to scouts as I expected: Most of the people I’ve spoken to see the NFL as something that happens or doesn’t, and it matters little to them if it does. It’s not that they’re insensitive. It’s just that they are so overworked that they don’t have time to set aside to truly promote their kids (outside of the specific NFL liaisons, of course).
  • They are very beholden to their head coaches: NFL scouts often travel in packs and get to know scouts with other teams; they develop a heavy sense of fraternity. Not so in the recruiting community. They work extremely hard and most are very gifted, but they know that their fates are essentially tied to what happens on Saturdays. If their head coach goes, they go, too. And they might not ever resurface unless he gets another chance.
  • They’ve paid a heavy price to work in football: They start in early August. They’re working long days and every weekend all the way until Thanksgiving. Then, while most students are focused on finals and vacation, they are in overdrive until the week before Christmas. Next up for many/most is bowl play, so they’re out with the team until Christmas (some until New Year’s). They get a little time off until the AFCA convention starts in early January, but then it’s back to work for February signing day. Then spring ball begins, and the rush of spring and summer recruiting, when prospective players are visiting. And remember, most of these people are volunteers, part-timers, or making less than $30,000 annually while working 60-70 hours per week. They are essentially putting their social and personal lives on hold to chase a dream. No one’s putting a gun to their heads, but it’s still a lot to process.

If you’re interested in learning more about college football behind the scenes — or any other part of the football business — make sure to register for our weekly Friday Wrap. It comes out tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. CST. Sign up here.

Do Marketing Reps See the NCAA NIL Ruling Having a Major Impact?

14 Thursday Nov 2019

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As you know, the NCAA has ruled that student-athletes will be able to profit off their names, images and likenesses (NIL) as soon as a uniform policy can be developed, which might be as soon as January 2021. Obviously, it’s a radical change, and one we’ve already dealt with to some degree (here and here).

The move was met with alarm by most people in the college football community that we spoke to, but we decided to get a different perspective. So we decided to reach out to people who work with NFL players on the marketing side. Would this be as big as some think it will be?

We asked: Let’s say the NIL rule came into effect this January, and you’re representing Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence. Who’s your first call? What’s your first move? What does the market look like?

Here’s what we were told.

  • “A lot of it would deal with what Trevor was interested in doing. People have this idea that there’s gonna be this overabundance of money going to these kids, and I think it’s gonna temper things. It will be interesting to see. These universities, I feel like, when the rule goes into effect, will be a huge push with their third parties (IMG College, Learfield  Sports, etc.). IMG is the go-between with corporate sponsors, so they’re gonna tell these players, ‘you need to work with IMG. IMG is gonna bring you all these opportunities,’ which I think for a lot of kids make sense. For the vast majority, it will make sense, but for a guy like Trevor Lawrence, really, his competition is the school, from a marketing standpoint. A guy like Trevor Lawrence, his marketability extends beyond what Clemson is providing. He would need to go outside the Learfield/IMG model and have his own representation that looks out for his interest. . . The shoe companies will be in a predicament. Adidas is gonna want to sign a Trevor Lawrence, but Trevor may not be able to wear Adidas cleats on the field. Where (the shoe companies) will run into trouble is, all the schools that Adidas has a deal with, the schools will want the shoe companies to spend their money with their top guys. . . Would definitely limit his exposure, where he’s on TV and print media. initially it’s a bad look if he’s plastered everywhere, and I think most guys aren’t gonna want that. Maximize your value, minimize your time commitment. Some guys are as big in college as they’ll ever be. Maybe a (Oklahoma QB) Jalen Hurts is a little different. Really don’t know what kind of NFL prospect he’s gonna be, so you capitalize on his marketability now.”
  • “First move, contact my most deep-pocketed financial advisors and partner with them to come up with a very large marketing guarantee for someone the stature of Lawrence. Let’s call it $10M up front. Obviously the player doesn’t collect on the marketing deals until the $10M is recouped. Next, I negotiate multi-year deals with all the major apparel and trading card companies. After that, I reach out to up-and -coming companies in various business segments and try to acquire equity stakes in those companies for my client. Smaller upfront payout to my client, but fair-sized equity stake in that company. Lastly, I reach out to various Hollywood agencies such as WMA/Endeavor, ICM and CAA and gauge their interest in co-repping my client for any opportunities in the movie/TV world.”
  • “Shoe and apparel, then beverage, then local memorabilia. Then regional car dealership. Also, probably the opposite brand from who the school is in bed with. It would benefit the shoe company to have one person on the team to wear something completely different.”

Want more football from a business perspective? Make sure to register for our Friday Wrap, which comes out every Friday at 6:30 p.m. CST. You can do that here.

Ask the Scouts: How Could NFL Liaisons Be More Helpful?

08 Friday Nov 2019

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We try to use this blog to educate people. These days, we’re digging into the NCAA recruiting and personnel communities, trying to learn as much as we can about what people in this community do and what they need. That’s why launched a new weekly series, the ITL CFB Recruiting and Personnel Newsletter. Here’s this week’s edition.

At the same time, we hope to help them learn more about their own industry, as well. To do that, this week, we asked a handful of our friends in scouting this question: If there was one thing you’d like to tell NFL liaisons, that would make your job easier, what would it be? 

Here are their responses.

  • “It would be nice if across the board they were all open and honest. Remove restrictions and make sure we all got everything we need on their guys. I always say, often times, scouts and schools hurt each other and the players because of ego. We are a guest and should act as a guest at these schools. Coaches should look at us as a chance to help further careers of their players and make friendly connections in the NFL. By being open and treating the other side with kindness and being wide open just helps everyone. They don’t need to withhold info or be cynical. We (also) need to be honest and open with them. So not really one thing, because everything is needed. Honest info, details, open policy, make sure we have film access, etc. Give medical details and all that.”
  • “I think the No. 1 thing is honesty. We want to know the person that we are buying.  If you lie about the guys, you really are hurting the guys that do work hard.” 
  • “I would say the handful of schools that restrict practice access (and which days they can visit), Michigan and Michigan State being the worst. It’s a really bad look and it truly hurts their players. Imagine Cass Tech (High School) in Detroit telling those two (teams), “you can’t come watch practice, but you can swing by and watch them work out one day a week”?! That’s what Michigan does in-season. Michigan State lets you stay for like 5-10 minutes.”
  • “They do a good job. . . taking the direction and cue from the head coach. So they have (much) to consider in their jobs. My experiences have been good over the years. I feel I would be knit picking (if I was critical).” 

We’re asking questions like this every week in our newsletter series. If you work in college football recruiting and personnel — or even if you don’t, or would like to — and you’d like to be added to the list for this series, just let us know at nstratton at insidetheleague dot com. Another way to learn more: register for our Friday Wrap, which comes out this evening. You can do that here.

How Will the NCAA’s NIL Decision Affect College Recruiting?

01 Friday Nov 2019

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If you work in the college and/or pro football space, or you would like to someday, you probably heard about the NCAA’s decision to allow players to profit off their names, images and likenesses. There’s still a lot to be decided about how it will work, and we’re a year-and-change away from it actually happening in college football, but it’s coming, and it’s a bombshell.

While many in the media and elsewhere have applauded the NCAA’s decision, we wanted to talk to people who work where the rubber meets the road. We asked several  recruiting directors at NCAA schools, big and small, this question:

The NCAA has voted to allow players to profit off their names, images and likenesses. How do you see this affecting recruiting? Will the rich get richer as big schools with major followings dominate the skill positions? Will schools in less populous or rural settings (Illinois, Boise State, Texas Tech) struggle to attract major talent? Will it have a negligible effect on competitive balance as the best schools attract the best players and others make do with the rest? Or will have some other effect?

Here are some of their responses.

  • “This could be a benefit for schools located in major cities. You can now sell the idea that a player’s product is being presented to a bigger market than other schools in less populated areas. More people = more money. QBs and skills players will most likely benefit from this rule. Looking at the NFLPA top 50 jersey sales, you see that majority of players are QBs, RBs and WRs. Not one OL is listed. It’ll be interesting to see how schools will create a plan to promote player brands for the players in the trenches to the skilled positions.”
  • “A top WR in Texas that would once not think about leaving the state because they had Tech or Baylor dominating the passing game may now waiver because a school in Los Angeles has presented the possibility of commercial or billboard opportunities for them throughout their college career.”
  • “This is really opening Pandora’s box. (Nike founder and Oregon mega-donor) Phil Knight and (business magnate and Oklahoma State mega-donor) T. Boone (Pickens) were the first two donors I thought of when this news came out. . . .”
  • “I think it will make the gap (between big schools and small schools) bigger. It benefits the bigger schools who generate huge revenue like Ohio State, Michigan, Texas, (Texas) A&M, ‘Bama, etc. . . . I’m not sure people know the implications of what this will mean. It certainly changes things, and I’m sure there will be a lot that’s discussed in coming years about how to govern this. But certain schools will use this as a big selling tool in recruiting. . . I heard (former Ohio State head coach) Urban Meyer say on (the Big Ten Network) a few weeks ago say, what would he do if (ex-Buckeye running back) Zeke Elliot was making $600,000 his (sophomore) year at Ohio State? How’s he supposed to say, you gotta go to class? What kind of message would that send to his teammates?”
  • “I question if your recruiting staff is now going to essentially need to have an agent on staff to set up promotional appearance and endorsements. . . I’m not sure how the rural vs. big city will affect recruiting and likeness as a whole though. I think it all depends on if there’s a cap on how much a kid can make and where they get the money from. The more interesting thing to me is, will you see the money from boosters that went to facilities, gear, travel, graphics, etc., now be redirected to the players? Will you lose out on staffing because the operating budget shrinks? I think this is going to be a major issue with group of five schools. the elite programs will not be affected as much.”
  • “(One) interesting question will be how the pay will differ from starters and backups and walk-ons. I do ultimately think it will affect the landscape of recruiting if the higher-tier Power 5 schools are able to offer a lot larger monetary package to recruits compared to the more remote and lower-tiered schools. . . If the money that players receive is similar to the scholarships they already receive, and if you only see just extremely popular college athletes getting the endorsement deals, then I don’t think it will have an enormous impact on recruiting.”

Of course, the football business world is a big one, and there are other groups whom the new rule will affect. One of those groups is NFL agents. We spoke to several of them today to get their opinion on what happens next, and whether or not they see this as a net positive or net negative. You can read their responses in today’s Friday Wrap. You can register for it here.