The viral video of No. 1 Rivals.com recruit Travis Hunter signing with Jackson State over Florida State, Georgia and Auburn looms as an inflection point for college football.
It’s the most recognizable moment in a flurry of events that show the 2022 recruiting class portends change in how the talent procurement process and compensation of college athletes will unfold. It can be placed alongside top-ranked quarterback Quinn Ewers leaving high school early for NIL riches, Lane Kiffin declaring players are headed to “where they get paid the most” and an acknowledgement in the industry that separating NIL from recruiting will be impossible.