Deion Sanders, aka Coach Prime, and NIL just forever changed college football signing day

Deion did it again.

Actually, Coach Prime wasn’t alone this time.

Nor was the element isolated to the “Deion Sanders Effect” at Jackson State – though landing a consensus five-star recruit considered the nation’s top overall prospect to the Football Championship Level, and at a JSU program part of the tradition-rich Historically Black Colleges and Universities, certainly is unprecedented.

If this coaching cycle has been considered perhaps the biggest of the modern era – college bluebloods Florida, LSU, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, USC, among others, all have new coaches – then this 2022 class early signing period must usher in the Name, Image and Likeness Signing Era.

Travis Hunter, the aforementioned top-rated prospect who had been long committed to Mike Norvell and considered a future cornerstone of Norvell’s Florida State rebuild, flipped Wednesday and signed with Sanders’ Tigers’ program.

During a signing day ceremony inside Collins Hill High School in the Atlanta suburb of Suwanee, Ga., Hunter briefly donned a Florida State hat, opted to toss it aside and put on a white Jackson State cap at the same time he unzipped his shirt to reveal a Believe Under Armour shirt similar to that which Sanders’ JSU squad is outfitted.

Meanwhile, Amorion Walker – a 6-foot-4, three-star wideout from Ponchatoula, La., switched his long-time commitment from Notre Dame and signed with Michigan, while Dallas, Ga., running back Justin Williams – a consensus four-star prospect – picked Josh Heupel’s Tennessee Vols program in a tight battle with Auburn.

Per sources with direct knowledge of those prospects’ recruitments, potential NIL opportunities swayed heavily the players’ final decisions.

By the letter of the rule governing NIL opportunities within the NCAA construct, coaches and programs are forbidden from legally guaranteeing or promising NIL endorsement opportunities to entice prospects into signing with their schools.

Newly minted Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman addressed the NIL era during his signing day presser inside Notre Dame Stadium.

“We do things the Notre Dame way,” said Freeman, when asked if there was temptation to push boundaries on NIL opportunities as other schools are alleged to have done so. “I've told this staff that we're going to do everything we do with integrity and do it the right way, and we're going to win by outworking people. That's going to be our mindset in football. That's going to be our mindset in recruiting. We're going to outwork our opponents.

“I don't want to do anything that has to do with breaking the rules.”

Three different sources told FootballScoop that Hunter had secured NIL deals to coincide with his decision to sign with Jackson State; one Web site reported that Hunter would receive a seven-figure payday from Barstool Sports and Penn National Gaming – though that potential situation is perhaps muddled by Sanders’ ongoing professional relationship with Barstool Sports, which hosts Sanders’ podcast.

Sanders has openly pushed for more rights and opportunities for student-athletes since he was hired at Jackson State 15 months ago. Sanders led the Tigers to their first SWAC title since 2007 and first-ever appearance in the Celebration Bowl, opposite South Carolina State Saturday inside Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium.