Today’s section of the anonymous player survey is a fun one. I asked players about the craziest things a coach has done to try to get them into the transfer portal. 

Last year when I asked this question, we got some great stories, including a player being offered acres of land. 

We all know tampering is rampant behind the scenes. Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney’s public accusations toward Ole Miss head coach Pete Goulding are just the tip of the iceberg. 

Here’s what’s below the surface of the water. 

Big 12 Anonymous Player Survey: What’s the Craziest Thing a Coach Has Done To Get You in the Portal

“I was getting ready to commit to a school, and I told that to a coach of another school. That coach wanted me so bad that he said, ‘I’ll fly you and your girl and your family back out here for another visit so ya’ll can see more stuff.’ Once he offered that, I knew I had to commit to him because he’s going to take care of me.” 

“Some coaches talk trash about other schools. It’s no fun. You want to hear what a school can do for you, not what other schools don’t do.”

“They’ll usually find your agent or something. Some coaches are slick, and they’ll find some connects to get to you.” 

“They do weird stuff on Instagram. Instagram DMs. Disappearing messages on Instagram. I’m not going to say names, but yeah. They’ll give you an offer, but put it in vanish mode so you can’t really screenshot it. Or if you do, they’ll see it.”

“Tampering. They’ll use the vanish mode. A coach has never done that, but the guys under them…the recruiting guys.” 

“You’ve probably heard it all. Just the money. It’s crazy. They’ll text or call or hit you up on Twitter.”  

“Text my uncle. Or call my uncle.” 

“Offer me money. That’s about it.”

“Nobody wants me, bro.” 

“I just had a lot of players reaching out to me, but money can’t buy me.”

“Just the amount of money they offer is crazy in itself.” 

“Show up to my agent’s house. They were willing to just do it.” 

“They tried to get my Dad a job. It was insane. Highly unexpected, but you gotta do what you gotta do. It didn’t work, but they definitely tried for sure.” 

“I ain’t no rat, man.”

“Lie on the papers. It wasn’t a real deal offer. They sold me a dream on an NIL contract and then got rid of that one.”

What You Need to Know

• Iowa State AD Jamie Pollard says he will step down as soon as the Cyclones have his replacement hired. 

• You should all watch this excellent interview with Pollard that the 365 Sports crew did this week. 

• The latest addition to the Protect College Sports Act may be a $25 million pool available for schools to use to retain their own talent, in addition to the $20 million+ revenue sharing allotment. 

• Florida head coach Jon Summral took a dig at the Big 12 and ACC while speaking at SEC media days this week. 

• Utah made a familiar late addition to its quarterback room this week.

• Want your Big 12 news and analysis in podcast form? Listen to Open For Business at the gym, in your car, or first thing in the morning on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube.

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