The NIL era is proving to challenge the conventional ways of recruiting, and teams are doing whatever it takes to adapt. In a game where any advantage is necessary and every mistake has the chance to prove fatal, college football programs are more than willing to copy the next guy’s homework.
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According to Athlon Sport‘s Kevin Borba, that’s exactly what the Florida State Seminoles did to Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes, who he believes have created a new recruiting style. In a bold take, Borba argued that Florida State copied how Deion Sanders recruited Julian Lewis, following Shedeur Sanders’ exit.
“The Colorado Buffaloes, they pioneered, I think, a passing-of-the-torch sort of recruiting style. When it came to recruiting Julian Lewis, the biggest aspect in Julian Lewis’ recruitment process was him having an opportunity to start right away… A lot of these programs that were interested in him were offering him the goal of eventually being the starter. Colorado was offering him the goal of him taking over immediately,” Borba explained.
Invoking the imagery of Lewis sitting on a throne while the program’s former star signal caller, Shedeur Sanders, hands him a torch, Borba explained this is a is a perfect recruiting strategy. Even though the success of the pitch is somewhat predicated on the player having a bit of an ego, it seems to be a rather effective sales tactic.
After seeing FSU depict their current quarterback, Thomas Castellanos, quite literally handing the keys over to the team’s 2026 candidate in Jaden O’Neal, it appears as if this newfound strategy could soon become common practice.
“Florida State pulled off the same darn style… This is a sick idea for an official visit picture, and I think that’s what rubbed a lot of people the wrong way, because Colorado and Coach Prime obviously pioneered that. It’s not a bad thing to see people copying in recruiting. It happens all the time.”
Simply put, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. For all of the criticisms that Sanders and the Buffaloes have received throughout the past two seasons, Borba highlights for us that this is an instance in which Coach Prime is actually seeing his influence on the game be recognized, albeit in a bit of an underhanded way.
In a day and age where engagement and follower accounts seem to be their own form of currency, Sanders’ recruiting tactics have proven to be more than useful. The fact of the matter is that younger athletes are more aware of the concepts of marketing and brand exposure than ever before.
Naturally, that’s resulted in viral videos and player-focused social media posts becoming valuable tools for everyone involved. College football has officially placed profit ahead of productivity, until that changes, the artificial glitz and glamor associated with these types of recruiting styles will continue to emerge.
After all, why struggle to become a starter at a big-time program when you could collect a larger paycheck and potentially become a star at a less accomplished school that’s still just as socially relevant as its counterparts? It’s all about working smarter, not harder.
