Name: Jake Thaw
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 190 lbs.
High school: Westport (CT) Staples
Position: Wide receiver
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #26
Last year: I ranked Thaw #118 and said he would be a backup wide receiver (LINK). He played in one game.
TTB Rating: N/A
Thaw is yet another solidly talented walk-on wide receiver. Since he has yet to play a down at Michigan, I want to take this opportunity to test out a theory. Is there a chance that walk-ons could be phased out of playing time at big-time programs? For example, if NIL deals are now running the sport, a 4-star receiver is not going to want to lose out on playing time to a 0-star walk-on when that could be a chance to make a big play, score a touchdown, and increase his visibility. Late in a 40-point blowout, a freshman like Darrius Clemons might be able to establish himself for a future NIL deal by scoring a 70-yard touchdown, but if the coaches empty the bench to play someone like Thaw, that could affect Clemons's bottom line.
This is not specific to Thaw and Clemons (they're just examples), but I wonder if coaches might start making on-field and depth chart decisions based on NIL.
Prediction: Backup wide receiver
NIL will absolutely dictate such decisions. Not tomorrow, but eventually. NIL, or something like it, was inevitable. But with that genie out of the bottle, the college game will start to devolve due to it. The shouting match between Fisher and Saban is simply a sign of what's boiling under the surface. Harbaugh says he wants Michigan to be "transformational, not transactional." That's fine, but with that comes on-field play something less than those teams that play the NIL game to win. The bowl game against Georgia showed what's in store: a team loaded with top talent will overwhelm teams without such talent 99 times out of 100.
ReplyDeleteMost fans don't much care who is getting the ball late in blowouts so it's hard to see it making a difference for NIL.
ReplyDeleteOr maybe they keep the scholarship guy on the bench so that some other school doesn't get any ideas about offering him NIL$ to transfer over.
I agree NIL could matter but this seems like a stretch. Walk-ons are still going to be important to programs and it'll be important to reward them or the walk-on program will wither.
Counterpoint: I think the excitement for Daylen Baldwin ramped up when he caught that 70-yard touchdown pass from J.J. McCarthy. One or two of those types of plays could make a difference.
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