Former UT walk-on hopes new app will help Texas' NIL efforts

Prior to the induction of the words “name, image, and likeness” into the casual parlance of college football, former Texas wide receiver Kai Jarmon had an idea for connecting fans and athletes.

An arts and entertainment technologies graduate, Jarmon developed an idea for a platform allowing any college athlete, including a walk-on receiver like he was, to connect with fans and be able to share their story.

That idea sprung early, several years before the implementation of name, image, and likeness laws across over half of the 50 states. There were very few opportunities for a walk-on like Jarmon to explain how he went from Los Altos High School near Silicon Valley to wearing No. 14 on the Longhorn football team.

“Then July 1st happened, and I was thinking ‘oh, it’s finally time to do this,’” Jarmon told Inside Texas.

Jarmon, along with help from Larkin Williams-Capone, former Longhorn wideout and current Jacksonville Jaguar Collin Johnson, and former Texas wide receivers coach and current New Mexico quarterbacks coach Drew Mehringer, launched PreSnap Athlete Connect this week. In its current form, it’s a subscription service that allows fans to schedule opportunities to connect with Texas players.

In the future, Jarmon hopes PreSnap becomes a significant recruiting differentiator for the Longhorn football program.

Jarmon was a reserve receiver with a Texas pedigree; his father, two cousins, aunt, and grandparents attended the University of Texas. He played from 2017 through 2020, receiving snaps in Texas’ win over Colorado in the Alamo Bowl.

He entered the business world, but still kept up with the program he had been a part of for four seasons. During the summer, he saw how Texas stumbled through some of its NIL rollout.

“I think with the NIL ruling, the brand power of UT and the fanbase, and all the resources that we have, there shouldn’t be a reason that UT isn’t recruiting top five every time,” Jarmon said. “Honestly, I’m sure you’ve seen how frustrated people are with the fact that we’re not really doing a lot with NIL, and I really think with what we’re doing, if we can work with UT specifically, can completely change that.”

Texas’ NIL program, termed LEVERAGE, has helped some Longhorns navigate NIL deals. Several UT student-athletes have partnered with local and national businesses, including DeMarvion Overshown, Bijan Robinson, Josh Thompson, Andrew Jones, Trey Faltine, Silas Ardoin, and many others.

What is missing is the headline-grabbing, program-benefitting deals like ‘Bring Back the U’ offering monthly payments to Miami Hurricanes players, or Built Bar sponsoring every BYU walk-on to cover the cost of their scholarship.

Not every program has an apparel mogul ready to personally sponsor top players like Phil Knight at Oregon. But a program like Texas has a deep donor base ready to assist in over-the-table means after typically being leery of anything that might set off NCAA alarms.

PreSnap Athlete Connect wants to be the bridge between busy, successful business owners who simply want to have ready-made avenues for them to step up to the plate and offer NIL payments, and busy, successful student-athletes who are trying to capitalize on their newfound opportunities in their spare time.

“The key thing is making sure these guys have time while they still can make money,” Jarmon said. “At the same time, if these guys are making tons of money on these small deals but then they’re not spending any time playing football, then it’s hurting the program.”

PreSnap Athlete Connect currently features UT players Luke Brockermeyer and Justin Mader. Fans can pay to connect with athletes for tips or general discussion on Texas football with some common-sense limitations. They can also book video calls via Zoom to speak directly to UT athletes.

It seems simple, but Jarmon wants the app to be a gateway for greater things for the Longhorn football program.

“What we want to do eventually is we want to make – I call it a war chest of NIL funding,” Jarmon said. “I know UT has the power to do this, but basically using different mechanisms to build up the size of the funds with donors and fans.”

In an explanatory video sent to potential donors, Jarmon wants a “burnt orange fund” to built by donors purchasing subscriptions to the services Athlete Connect provides. Texas Senate Bill 1385 presented a hurdle of “fair market value” that makes simply paying a player $50,000 for an autograph not a feasible option.

PreSnap uses an auction system that falls in line with both compliance and SB1385 regulations.

“As long as people are bidding up to the price, that meets fair market value,” Jarmon said. “Players can basically auction off a subscription to be met with over Zoom, messaged once a week, once a month. It’s up to them to decide. But they can auction that off, and they can get paid as much as the auction goes up to. Whatever the highest bid is, that’s fair market value for them.”

Jarmon has additional plans to continue to upgrade and add features to the app within the next few months, including someday adding the ability to schedule meet and greets. He also wants to add more of the Texas roster to the service.

He referenced “big schools” when talking about deploying the app, but his own experiences and personal fandom led PreSnap to be developed with one school in mind in the University of Texas.

After seeing a problem, the lack of a bridge between donors and student-athletes, Jarmon is making an effort to build the structure to help Texas develop a unique NIL sell for recruits and student-athletes and ensure athletic successes in the new NIL landscape.

“If we have this NIL fund for UT players, then basically all of these guys can have a steady stream of NIL income that’s completely legal,” Jarmon said. “If recruits see that, then they’re like ‘why would I not go there?’”

Cover photo courtesy of PreSnap