We are talking about players who are getting in some cases, hundreds of thousands in NIL $. I read that Scholarship players can live off campus after their sophomore year. I doubt they have personal nutritionists inside their on campus rooms less off campus. Let’s be rational, if a player is self disciplined, motivated enough, goal oriented they will probably be successful with conditioning, eating healthy etc. If they aren’t devoted to healthy eating, nor prioritizing continuous development towards improving their stamina, who is going to prevent them from ordering out, driving to get food, challenge themselves lifting weights etc especially since they have their own money to spend? It’s far from the era of players saying we don’t have enough to eat like we heard from UConn’s Shabazz Napier back in 2014.
These players can eat healthy at meals as dictated by the nutritionist but then can order out, eat snacks, stay up late whatever. I would think that this is when program culture, peer pressure, follow ups with weigh-ins, body measurements, mandated observed weight lifting with goals, timed runs etc would be necessary to help players stay fixed on goals. No nutritionist, strength and conditioning coach etc can totally prevent players from unhealthy habits but it can definitely be spotted, monitored and addressed in timely manners. What if NIL payments were tied into specific personal goals like weight, weight lifting, run times etc based on their body type? Not every player is self motivated enough especially if they now have the $ to spend and the time to participate in unhealthy performance affecting behaviors. Coaches have to consistently prioritize, address these issues with their staff and players for the players to take their efforts seriously too.
sorry for the length - I know - blah blah blah