All we have are rumors:Steady pick ups thankfully ongoing from transfer portal...BUT:
HAS ANYONE HEARD ANTHING AS TO WHAT IS BEHIND THIS RASHADA "NO-SHOW"??!
I have read and heard all kinds of stories, versions of various explanations--and the most we actually seem to know right now is that thus won't have any actual effect on our class unless/until we get to FRIDAY (this week), at which point, if he doesn't sign his commitment by then, he will not be eligible for participation with the team this spring.
Of course, if he isn't COMING for some reason (again, I don't care to join in the supposition, the big media "Guessing Game", at this point), that's the general idea and the "WHY"s cease to be of much real interest to me if they cannot somehow be reversed.
Frankly, if this is the case of another coddled athlete head-case's holding some outsized view of his own importance and value up as leverage for more NIL money-up-front, or just the latest variation in an ongoing back and forth regarding who they are listening to THIS week, I am SICK OF IT! I want to see us go after talented prospects (ESPECIALLY 5-star QBs) aggressively, compete strongly to land and keep them, but there is a certain value in Character, and one's sense of honor and commitment.
The fact is, we don't know that that is what is occurring here; indeed, so far we don't really know ANYTHING--that's the point here. It's just that the long months of previous news and events have our nerves and sense of pessimistic foreboding rubbed raw by now. We HEAR whispers of "transcript problems" of some sort of "snag with the NIL deal" and, having seen it all, everywhere before, we cannot help but groan, "Here we go again!"
But for the moment, I am TRYING to reserve judgment.
If ANYONE has any FACTS, please share them.
Yes...That ON3 report was just ONE of several different online announcements that fueled my growing confusion/disgust. I for one chose NOT to specifically repeat it at the time--and sure enough, it apparently turns out to be bogus (um, excuse me: "mistaken/"fabricated"?).All we have are rumors:
- Supposedly there is an issue with his NIL deal
- A friend messaged me and thinks this will be resolved by Friday. (I do not know his sources, but he is just as accurate or inaccurate at guessing these things as paid sites like On3.)
The following is an aggregation of assumed facts based on what seems plausible based on contract laws in the state of Florida and California. No emotion is applied to these assumptions.So he's gone. We should be fine, in the long(er) run...My main concern now is with the impatient, somewhat blind Gator fanbase.
I agree with Greg McElroy's take--that our spoiled, seemingly "entitled" modern Gator fans think this is the "Post-Spurrier Days", that we can reasonably expect double digit wins in Napier's Year 2. But in truth we need to give our Coach time and room to do a full REBUILD.
We WILL be better, and will continue to grow and improve: Eventually I believe we will be a Championship-caliber program once more. But we are still relatively early in the required "period of transition". We can only hope that the administration understands this, always did, and will allow this staff to "stay the course" in the face of what I anticipate will be a certain amount of "back channel static" in the months ahead--all the MORE exacerbated by this whole Rashada deal.
Meanwhile we continue to take a sh*tload of abuse and counterproductive "bad pr". I just tuned in to Finebaum on my way through the dial at lunchtime only to catch even Paul taking shots at Billy Napier for this--mild ones, to be sure, but he is one commentator who should know better...Maybe our Coach DOES "regret" his proud claims some months back of an "advanced Gator Collective", but that doesn't make anything but his positive impression and trust in the kid's, the family's, and the Coach's own NIL colleagues' honor and true intentions mistaken. From what I can tell from the information we have, those are HIS only real "errors" here.
Unlike elsewhere, OUR Coach, at least, appears to have respected and followed the few rules supposedly governing this whole process.
I'd love to hear a frank, first-person account of how all this came about from HIS point-of-view, but we may well never get it. I suppose he is (rightly) taking the stoic attitude that he MUST stay out of it, neither get nor be involved--as Coaches are supposed to do here in the first place.
More than anything, the "Gator perspective" at this point must be to just want to MOVE ON, as I say.
Of course, in my fondest hopes and dreams DJ Lagway is telling our people "Don't worry: I was gonna beat him out and still will BE your QB-of-the-future, regardless...just keep doing what you're doing, building the team we'll need to begin our eventual foundation of a new Championship tradition in Gainesville when I eventually step into the QB-1 role..."--in other words showing the kind of maturity and clear-eyed priorities that this Califofnia family did not.
Well, a guy can dream, right?
(With respect to that last line above, re lawyers...)The following is an aggregation of assumed facts based on what seems plausible based on contract laws in the state of Florida and California. No emotion is applied to these assumptions.
- Rashada was offered a $6M NIL deal at Miami with a third party, Life Wallet
- Rashada was offered a $7M NIL desk at Florida with another third party
- Ruiz snuck in a deadman clause into the Miami deal that due California law, Florida would become financially liable for the $6M that Rashada reneged on, bringing the total to $13M
- Florida realized they were backed into a corner and had no option but to pay the $13M, or let Rashada out of the commitment
What does this mean for any other school? Rashada is in a legal quandary. Unless he goes back to Miami, anyone else who picks him up on an NIL deal owes $6M to Life Wallet plus the NIL deal to that school UNLESS the deadman clause adds specificity, e.g., “The client may be released from this deal without penalty only if the client does not sign with Florida or FSU”.
Due to client privilege we will never know the details of the NIL deals, but we now know that lawyers have the most to gain here.
That was my reaction to his words on the subject as well. He also is showing himself to be an active and enthusiastic team-builder in his efforts so far to reach out to prospective recruits on the Gators' radar--and has indicated to our staff that he is willing to do more, should they ask.DJ Lagway reaffirmed his commitment to the class of 2024. He wants to build that class and enjoy his last year of high school football and baseball. Frankly, I respect that decision.