Pitt’s latest defection to the transfer portal stung.
Samuel Okunlola is a promising redshirt freshman who was all but guaranteed a starting job next season. He was being taught by a coach who is widely considered to be among the best at his position. And he was playing in a defense that can be a feast for a pass-rusher like him.
So what gives? Why would Okunlola leave that situation?
There’s that “other reason,” of course.
NIL.
As with so many players across the country right now, it came down to NIL. Okunlola, under the advisement of his representation, was looking for a certain amount in NIL, and he went into the portal to find it.
Okunlola is certainly not unique in that pursuit; players all over the country are doing the same. This one stands out because of his path to playing time, but that’s not all players are looking for these days.
As such, the loss of Okunlola should probably be viewed as unavoidable. Every year, teams will lose key players, regardless of their relationships or playing time, because of NIL. It doesn’t quite mean that schools like Pitt will lose everybody, though, because while NIL is used heavily for player acquisition, it’s also a tool for retention, and while things didn’t come together with Okunlola, other key parts of Pitt’s roster are staying in place for similar reasons.
Who am I talking about? Put it this way: If you look at the underclassmen who felt it necessary to post on social media announcing their return, you can probably assume they were considering leaving.
If not, why would they need to announce that they aren’t leaving?
Those guys were considering it, but they returned because the enticement to do so was strong enough. That’s not to say those players don’t like being at Pitt and don’t like their coaches and don’t want to stay; it’s to say that all of those elements plus the NIL angle came together to keep them here.
And we’re talking about key guys. We’re talking about considerable efforts to retain important pieces for next season.
They’re not going to keep everybody; nobody in the country is going to keep everybody they want to keep. I really believe that. The goal, then, is something short of 100% - but not too short.
Right now, I think Pitt has lost two guys that the coaches would have really liked to keep:
Okunlola and defensive tackle DeAndre Jules
I think efforts were made to retain those guys, but you aren’t going to win every battle. That’s just how it goes. I do think Pitt’s efforts at retention, particularly on offense, have been pretty good so far. I'm not exaggerating when I say that nearly every player is looking for something; the fact that there have really just been two "bad" losses to the portal - at this point - I think that speaks to some of the work that's been done behind the scenes.
Samuel Okunlola is a promising redshirt freshman who was all but guaranteed a starting job next season. He was being taught by a coach who is widely considered to be among the best at his position. And he was playing in a defense that can be a feast for a pass-rusher like him.
So what gives? Why would Okunlola leave that situation?
There’s that “other reason,” of course.
NIL.
As with so many players across the country right now, it came down to NIL. Okunlola, under the advisement of his representation, was looking for a certain amount in NIL, and he went into the portal to find it.
Okunlola is certainly not unique in that pursuit; players all over the country are doing the same. This one stands out because of his path to playing time, but that’s not all players are looking for these days.
As such, the loss of Okunlola should probably be viewed as unavoidable. Every year, teams will lose key players, regardless of their relationships or playing time, because of NIL. It doesn’t quite mean that schools like Pitt will lose everybody, though, because while NIL is used heavily for player acquisition, it’s also a tool for retention, and while things didn’t come together with Okunlola, other key parts of Pitt’s roster are staying in place for similar reasons.
Who am I talking about? Put it this way: If you look at the underclassmen who felt it necessary to post on social media announcing their return, you can probably assume they were considering leaving.
If not, why would they need to announce that they aren’t leaving?
Those guys were considering it, but they returned because the enticement to do so was strong enough. That’s not to say those players don’t like being at Pitt and don’t like their coaches and don’t want to stay; it’s to say that all of those elements plus the NIL angle came together to keep them here.
And we’re talking about key guys. We’re talking about considerable efforts to retain important pieces for next season.
They’re not going to keep everybody; nobody in the country is going to keep everybody they want to keep. I really believe that. The goal, then, is something short of 100% - but not too short.
Right now, I think Pitt has lost two guys that the coaches would have really liked to keep:
Okunlola and defensive tackle DeAndre Jules
I think efforts were made to retain those guys, but you aren’t going to win every battle. That’s just how it goes. I do think Pitt’s efforts at retention, particularly on offense, have been pretty good so far. I'm not exaggerating when I say that nearly every player is looking for something; the fact that there have really just been two "bad" losses to the portal - at this point - I think that speaks to some of the work that's been done behind the scenes.
