Although the rise of general managers in college football is still in its infancy, it hasn’t taken long for them to become integral parts of programs across the country.
Name, image, and likeness deals have become one of the hottest recruiting tools in college athletics over the past couple of seasons, and the ability to manage rosters — as we see in the NFL (to a lesser extent, of course) — is now something that college football programs need to have people in place for.
Texas Tech made itself a destination in the NIL world last week when two-time All-American softball pitcher NiJaree Canady chose the Red Raiders over blueblood programs like Oklahoma and Texas thanks to an NIL deal worth north of $1,000,000—an unprecedented number in her sport.
However, NIL money is being thrown around in college football to an extent that would make the general public sick if they knew all the details. So, having the right GM in place is key to ensuring that things are handled properly and in an orderly fashion.
Thus, Texas Tech took the liberty of giving its general manager, James Blanchard, a new two-year contract worth a total of $800,000, according to ESPN’s Jake Trotter.
Considered one of the rising stars in college athletics, Blanchard’s new contract is well worth the investment when looking at what the Red Raiders have done on the recruiting trail during his time as a member of the staff.
Blanchard followed head coach Joey McGuire from Baylor when he took over the program in 2021, and the two classes that TTU has brought in since then have been the best since Tech was among the nation’s top teams under Mike Leach in 2008-09.
In fact, according to 247Sports rankings, Texas Tech’s 2024 class ranks No. 25 in the country, it’s first Top 25 class since 2011. Much of that is credit to Blanchard, who Joey McGuire called the “best evaluator in college football” during a press conference back in 2022.
“The two things that stick out to me for James Blanchard — one is an eye for talent, how he evaluates, but [also] the way he connects and builds relationships at the same time,” McGuire said, according to the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal back in 2022. “… I’ve seen a lot of evaluators and they have personalities of cardboard. I’ve seen guys that are not great evaluators but are phenomenal at creating relationships. That dude has it all.”
