Yeah, were I him, I'd certainly consider Riley hard. I see Matt Stafford is Riola's godfather, if that matters. Still, he likely would start as a freshman at Nebraska, and that is a thing, even if his play is a bit rough and inconsistent. He probably would not at UGA.
I hear almost nothing about NIL at UGA, Smart barely mentions it ever and notes it's "out of his hands" in effect. I read about players signing deals at times.
Back when I was in school, car dealerships etc. would employ players as "salemen" for the summer and pay them whatever, they'd never show up for work. I'm sure this was common.