Why Notre Dame CFB Hall of Fame inductee Aaron Taylor said college football needs to ‘wake the fudge up’
Touching on a wide array of topics as a distinguished speaker on the campus of Notre Dame earlier this week, former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called college football in the age of NIL the “wild, wild west.”
Saturday, former Notre Dame offensive line standout and 2021 College Football Hall of Fame Inductee Aaron Taylor agreed with Rice. Then he took it a few steps further in a video circulating social media with the ferocity of the vicious blocks Taylor used to employ on the field regularly.
“Hey college football, it’s time to wake the fudge up,” he said. “Empires don’t stay empires forever. They crumble from within and almost always after great runs of dominance. We’re at a tipping point, y’all. What’s taking place behind the scenes right now in the NIL world is despicable. And it’s dangerous, and it’s irresponsible.”
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Taylor’s video came some 12 hours or so after it was reported Pitt wide receiver Jordan Addison could be transferring to USC to lock down a “massive NIL deal.” ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported Pitt coaches suspect tampering. Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi called USC head coach Lincoln Riley multiple times to voice his displeasure, Thamel reported.
Addison won the Biletnikoff Award last season as the top wide receiver in the country. The sophomore caught 100 passes for 1,593 yards and 17 touchdowns. His quarterback, Kenny Pickett, was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers with the No. 20 overall pick in Thursday’s NFL Draft.
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With his quarterback leaving, Addison could be on the move too. The transfer portal plus NIL earnings make relocation all the more enticing, but that reality also puts college football in a bind. It’s becoming as easy as ever to bolt programs for whatever reason.
“This isn’t about the kids getting theirs,” Taylor said. “The student-athletes have always deserved a bigger piece of the pie. This is about the adults in the room. It’s always been about the adults in the room, which is how we got the sham notion of amateurism in the first dang place.
“This is about the institutions. And the donor bases. And the development departments. And the extremely successful men and women who make up that population. But this ‘win by any means necessary mentality’ is a poison. It’s termites. And those termites are eroding the fabric and foundation of what makes this sport the greatest on the planet.”
Taylor said it’s time to “figure out a responsible way for everybody to win that is in the best interest of our sport.”
“Because what we’re doing now ain’t, and we better figure that out.”
