UTSA’s Jeff Traylor, a former high school coach, said he knew it wouldn’t please recruits but he’s against Texas prep players receiving NIL compensation.
Eric Gay/Associated Press
UTSA coach Jeff Traylor paused for 15 seconds to gather his thoughts when asked if Texas high school athletes should receive compensation for their name, image and likeness.
Specifically, Traylor was asked where he stands on a similar measure as Florida, where athletes are able to monetize NIL opportunities.
“Yeah,” Traylor said after a long pause during Sunday’s media session at the Texas High School Coaches Association convention. “I just don’t think that can be good. I don’t.
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“I’m sure I’m going to be frowned upon from my recruits hearing me say all this. I just don’t think that’s good. I’m against it personally. I think we need to keep Texas high school football as pure as possible.”
A longtime high school coach who is entering his seventh season at UTSA, Traylor said there’s “so much to be gained by having a great Texas high school experience and then getting your opportunity to go make money.”
UNT’s Neal Brown proud of ex-pupil
North Texas coach Neal Brown has fond memories of Marcus Jones, a record-setting kick returner who he signed at Troy.
Jones would later transfer to the University of Houston, where he won the Paul Hornung Award as the nation’s most versatile player and was an All-American selection.
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“Very lightly recruited coming out of high school,” said Brown, who recruited Jones out of Enterprise, Ala. “People say he was too small, but he competed.”
Jones, a cornerback who also saw playing time on offense, finished his career tied for the NCAA record with nine touchdowns.
“One of the toughest guys, mentally and physically, that I’ve ever coached,” Brown said. “I’m zero surprised at the success he’s had.”
A third-round draft pick by the New England Patriots, Jones is entering his fifth NFL season. He is a two-time All-Pro selection.
“What a great success story,” Brown said.
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UTEP ready for non-conference challenge
UTEP has a tough non-conference schedule in Year 3 under coach Scotty Walden.
The Miners open the season at Oklahoma and visit Michigan in Week 3. UTEP also hosts Oregon State.
“Our schedule, certainly early on, doesn’t do us a lot of favors,” Walden said. “But that’s exactly why we are here, it’s exactly why we play the game. If you don’t want to compete against the best then why are you playing, why are we coaching? We’re going to know exactly who our team is and we’re going to be battle-tested going into Mountain West Conference play.”
UTEP will move from Conference USA to Mountain West this season.
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Big step up for Texas State
Before he arrived at this year’s high school coaching convention, Texas State coach G.J. Kinne celebrated one of his kids’ birthdays on Saturday.
“We had a birthday party with bunnies, pigs and chickens and all kinds of stuff,” Kinne said.
Kinne has long been a part of the Texas High School Coaches Association convention.
“This is a place I used to come on vacation with my father,” said Kinne, whose father was a longtime Texas high school football coach.
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This is a big season for the Bobcats, who are coming off three straight bowl-win seasons and now move to the Pac-12.
“Just something new, a change of scenery, can be good,” said Kinne, who is 23-16 in his first three seasons in San Marcos. “Going to the Pac, being on a larger stage and having every game on national television, that’s something — especially when we are competing against some of the teams we recruit against — to be able to say, ‘Hey, you don’t have to get on Hulu or YouTube TV or one of these streaming devices and find the game. We’ll be on every national television cable. That part is big. It will be late and past my bedtime but that will be huge for us.”