Bruce Pearl on NIL: ‘It certainly has complicated the recruiting process’

If you ask Bruce Pearl, which AL.com’s Tom Green did, about the recruiting process post-NIL, you’ll hear some troubling things.

Pearl seemed to indicate that he didn’t have a grip on new-age recruitment in the era of compensated college athletes:

"“It certainly has complicated the recruiting process. This was a totally different recruiting season that we’re just going to have to figure out. We’re all looking for guidelines and trying to figure out what’s the best way to do it, what’s the right way to do it. But the bottom line is, for the kids being able to benefit off of Name, Image and Likeness, that’s a really good thing. Just trying to figure out how to navigate that properly, and that’s a challenge for all. I think we’re all still looking for solutions and all still looking for concepts and ideas. State laws are different from state to state, so basically, you have to follow as best you can your rules as written by your state. It’s all so new.”"

Bruce Pearl lost out on Julian Phillips due to NIL

These comments could have been referring to Julian Phillips’ commitment to the University of Tennessee, which was heavily-implied to have been swayed by what boosters on Rocky Top were willing to negotiate.

He may have been referring to that when he talked about ‘natural market forces’:

"“I’m not an attorney, but based on how I understand it, it’s going to have to be natural market forces. At least that’s what it looks like right now from one coach’s opinion.”"

Regardless of his understanding of NIL, Pearl did well enough this offseason bringing Johni Broome over from Morehead State and snatching Yohan Traore up from the ashes of Will Wade’s 2022 recruiting class.

He’ll figure out a way to manage Auburn’s resources eventually.