FSU NIL collective founder sends statement supporting Deion Sanders' recruiting strategy

Deion Sanders' recruiting strategy is one that FSU NIL collective "The Battle's End" founder Ingram Smith believes is the opposite of stupid. Smith believes it's "very stupid" to focus most of the NIL budget on high school recruits.

“Mike Norvell and his staff displayed a significant propensity to use the portal as a tool,” Smith said (h/t On3). “Our ability to add a competitive asset of NIL has only allowed that to transpire all the more.

“… We were one of the first collectives to just say, ‘Yeah, y’all are being very stupid if you’re spending 70% of your money on high school kids.’ We went heavily into retention and portal. That has changed as Florida State has signed higher-ranked high school prospects and will continue to do so.”

Coach Prime has a 40-40-20 policy, where 40% of his recruits come from the transfer portal as undergraduates, 40% come from the portal as grad students, and 20% come from the high school ranks.

Deion Sanders not doing things the traditional college football way

Evidently, Sanders' philosophy is shared by at least one traditional college football power. Yet no one will criticize his alma mater like they would Coach Prime. It's straightforward to understand why, however.

Sanders isn't doing things the traditional college football way.

In a sport built on traditions, Sanders is about replacing them. He hasn't been the biggest "don't wear red" guy since coming to Boulder and his players are just now starting to learn the fight song. That's small stuff compared to his shunning of boosters and the autonomy he enjoys in all facets of running a program.

It's not always easy to accept change to something that didn't necessarily need it in the eyes of many. But change is here, and Sanders is among those leading the charge.