“Anytime you’re upgrading the bottom of your roster, the football is going to be better,” Rhule said, “and the overall talent is going to be better.”
While a program like Georgia doesn’t benefit from prioritizing roster spots 85 through 95, Nebraska does. The Huskers’ collective, the 1890 Initiative, dealt them back into the game. With NIL resources at Nebraska’s disposal, gone are many of the offseason worries about cutting the roster to 85 scholarship-caliber players.
“If you’re at 85 and they’re good enough,” Rhule said, “85 is probably enough. But I think 95 is probably a little better.”
https://theathletic.com/5424013/2024/04/18/college-football-scholarship-limit-nil-portal/?source=freedailyemail&campaign=601983Georgia, which just finished with the No. 1 recruiting class and has seven transfers, is still adhering to the 85 limit. But it is using NIL to keep key walk-ons, including safety Dan Jackson, a potential starter this year who was on the field for the pick six that clinched the 2022 national championship game.
“That’s my standing right now, and how I’m getting school paid for,” Jackson said this spring, adding that he’s paying nothing out of pocket.
Michigan took a more egalitarian approach than other schools, using NIL to fortify the middle and the bottom of the roster rather than concentrating it at the top. A few players, including quarterback J.J. McCarthy and running back Blake Corum, had high-profile endorsement deals, but the perception in the locker room was that Michigan had fewer players earning seven figures than some of its direct competitors.