Published May 28, 2021
Buckeyes' recruiting personnel talks importance of Name, Image and Likeness
Joseph Hastings  •  DottingTheEyes
Recruiting Reporter

COLUMBUS, Ohio - On Monday, a bill that would provide collegiate student-athletes the right to monetize their name, image and likeness was introduced in the state of Ohio.

RELATED: NIL bill introduced in Ohio, could go into effect July 1

The very next day, The Ohio State University announced that they were partnering with an athlete marketing program called Opendorse to launch an NIL program called THE Platform.

ALSO: Ohio State launches NIL education program for athlete brand cultivation

Now so more than ever, the topic of name, image and likeness is prevalent, and will become a key recruiting tool utilized by programs across the country.

Given the school's location, the brand that the football team has, its social media presence and much more, the Buckeyes are certainly positioned to benefit greatly from this bill, if it passes.

Mark Pantoni, who is the football program's assistant athletic director for player personnel, talked about the advantages Ohio State has when it comes to NIL.

"So, Coach Day, along with Gene [Smith], have been awesome at just getting prepared," Pantoni said. "And just the next step is educating our staff and our players. At a place like Ohio State - we talked about it the other day - the brand of that Block O nationally, the brand of Ohio State football, the city of Columbus and then our fan base, which is on another level, we feel very excited about the opportunities for our players."

The timing of the introduction of this bill is crucial for the Buckeyes.

Over the next few weeks, they are set to host over 200 official and unofficial visitors on campus with the dead period set to end after May 31. Pantoni says that the topic of name, image and likeness will absolutely be talked about during the staff's conversations with prospects.

ALSO: 51 OFFICIAL VISITORS, WELL OVER 100 UNOFFICIAL VISITORS EXPECTED ON CAMPUS NEXT MONTH

"We're going to definitely discuss it with all the recruits these next few weeks," Pantoni said. "We think it's a great selling point for them. We have to embrace it. We know what's coming down the tracks, and we're going to be well-prepared for it."

Advertisement
info icon
Embed content not available

While members of the media won't be able to hear every conversation between the coaches and visitors, we do have an idea of how important NIL will be next month.

Erin Dunston, who was hired as the program's director of on-campus recruiting back in February, says name, image and likeness will make up a significant portion of their presentations and discussions with recruits.

"I would say honestly, with NIL - if we're going pie chart - I'm going to say the presentation is about 30 percent," Dunston said. "But the natural conversations that happen, I think it's going to take over a lot of the chunk of what is talked about because that's what these kids are really interested in."

"They're interested in their playing time, they're interested in building a relationship with the head coach, but there is that money aspect," Dunston added. "And so, to me, if you're asking me personally, presentation and conversation-wise, it's going to be about 50 percent."

It is important to note, however, that NIL will not be the focal point for Ohio State with every single kid. One prospect may not be as concerned with it as someone like Christen Miller, who has the Buckeyes in his top three in large part due to the brand opportunities they would present to him.

Pantoni says that while name, image and likeness is being embraced by the staff, the amount they will talk about it varies from recruit to recruit.

"I think it depends on each kid, and that's knowing the kid and their families," Pantoni said. "Again, I think it's something we have to embrace. Other schools are going to be pitching it, but there's only a handful of other schools that even have the platform to compete with us on everything, on their whole branding process."

Just like with any other pitch that the coaches and other recruiting staff members make on behalf of the Buckeyes, there's a balance they have to strike during their presentations.

This is an exciting opportunity for some prospects and their family members, but Ohio State wants to make sure they are not overwhelmed by this change, either.

"It's definitely something that we feel strongly about, so we might as well use it to our advantage," Pantoni said. "But with a kid and their family, we're not going to overwhelm them with it. We'll present information. If they have follow-up questions and it seems like it's really important to them, then we'll definitely use it more."

The bill that was introduced on Monday has an effective date of July 1, so its impact could be seen in the near future.

Stay tuned to BuckeyeGrove for more coverage from today's press conference.