There's probably a little bit of funny business still attached to these efforts, but there's also just as likely the kind of banal naivete derived from the processes of simple minds. ATM's methods of locking guys up and having those guys shut everything down has worked in the past, so it will work in the future, right? We'll see. Kids and parents shutting everyone else from getting a chance to pitch means that someone got bought, cash/thumbdrive in hand, on the visit. Tough to overcome, but also a random absurdity that turns a blind eye to the new era.
For the most part, ATM can offer a very rich "NIL" premise, early playing time, and the notion that they're a program on the brink of being the next Alabama due to the class stacking. So, yeah, they're winning early in this cycle, but I don't see it as on par with what they did last year. I see it as on par with what we did last year with the OL class.
I don't think I'm tilting at windmills. I ignore 50 of the NIL questions that pop up and answer one, and that's usually to help move along the understanding of the landscape, as I know it and as it shifts beneath our feet. So, no, I don't think it's all as reductive as you do, but I don't disagree that that's part of every question. The bottom line is that the only thing that makes anything better for Texas from here is winning on the field. Sarkisian has all of the NIL help he needs, and he knows that. So, if Sarklostagain can put 9+ wins on the board this season while the offense dazzles and the defense appears to occasionally have a clue, things get better.
That considered, those things happening and Manning committing to Texas means that things could get a whole lot better, real fast.
Meanwhile, sure, I've said it already, ATM's class and the program they're "building" has what I think is a foundation built on sand. Fisher runs a mercenary program and always has. He's like a legitimate fucking villain for the sport, which I think is fun. If they win a bunch of games, things are fine. Switzer did it. Jimmy Johnson did it. If they don't win a bunch of games, the fissures become chasms.
Multiple guys that they just signed think that they should be day one starters. There are currently 3 QBs on campus who have each been told that they're going to be starting in 2022. Let's see what happens if Evan Stewart gets no more than 5 targets a game for the first month of the season. Marshall has ... issues and I want to see how interested he winds up being in playing both football and school when he isn't seeing the field for most of the season. I already mentioned that Nolan's crew wants more money. Denver Harris' mom and "stepdad" need to keep getting paid whether Harris is getting much done or not. The Anderson's feel like they got played for not having a hand out. The list is pretty lengthy in terms of all of the mouths that need to be fed from a group of people who have never taken a fucking snap of CFB yet.