Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1462941
6 0 A P R I L 2 0 2 2 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M A MAN OUT OF TIME Long before NIL legislation began reshaping college athletics, Curtis Enis saw his stellar career derailed by his involvement with an agent W hen Penn State football coach James Franklin talks about the changes that in recent months have upended longstanding ideas about the nature of amateurism in college sports, it's with an eye toward getting his players in on the action. Franklin wants the Nittany Lions to be competitive at the sport's highest level, and the kind of on-field success he envisions will require them to be competitive in recruiting, which in turn will require them to be competitive in the NIL economy. In short, Franklin wants Penn State to do what it can to facilitate the type of business relationships that the NCAA's new name, image and likeness rules have made possible. His stance is no different from that of any big-time coach in modern college football, but it's also a sign of just how radically the ground has shifted when it comes to the propriety of agents and clients working with college athletes. Twenty-five years ago, an agent did es- tablish a business relationship with a prominent Penn State football player. And it would be fair to say the player's coach did not welcome that arrange- ment. The player was All-America tailback Curtis Enis. A bruising, 230-pound runner, Enis enjoyed an outstanding college career at Penn State. In three seasons, the last two as the Lions' full- time starter, he rushed for 3,256 yards and scored 36 touchdowns. He still ranks sixth on the school's career rush- ing list. The coach, of course, was Joe Paterno. The Nittany Lions' longtime mentor was by no means puritanical when it came to amateurism. He advocated for stipends that would help college ath- letes with expenses that weren't cov- ered by their scholarships. However when a sports agent named Jeff Nalley was caught giving gifts to Enis in 1997, Paterno was furious, be- lieving that Nalley had exploited a naive young player. Enis might have broken the rules. He might even have lied to Paterno about breaking them. But Nal- ley had been the instigator. Asked after the season who he blamed for fiasco that ensued, the coach could not have been more blunt. Said Paterno, "The guy I'd like to punch in the nose is the agent." OFF THE GRID Enis came to Penn State from a little town called Union City in rural west- ern Ohio. To big-time college recruiters, M AT T H E R B | M AT T @ B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M Enis was Penn State's leading rusher from 1995-97, totaling 3,256 yards and 36 touchdowns in his three seasons with the Nittany Lions. BWI FILE PHOTO