General manager Joe D’Orazio is rewriting the recruiting playbook, prioritizing long-term professional development and family education over the short-sighted bidding wars of the modern NIL era.
Utah football general manager Joe D’Orazio is trying to change the narrative when it comes to the new era of college athletics. With very few regulations, some players are left to make decisions with less than adequate representation. It's one of the major changes needed across the entire landscape. But where does the process start?
“I wish every agent was NFLPA certified," D’Orazio told UteZone. "Because the difference in tone talking on the phone between an NFLPA agent and a college agent is so drastic. The college agent is trying to maximize his value for four years. The NFLPA agent doesn’t care about the thousands of dollars. They want millions of dollars. They will always be playing the long-term game."
D’Orazio brings a unique background to Salt Lake City. He understands both sides of the business. After being at USC last year as the director of football strategy and an offensive assistant, dealing with the "agent game" has been interesting to say the least. There are basically two levels of recruiting happening. The high school players who sometimes use a friend or family member to negotiate on their behalf, and the established ones who find real agents and often come from the transfer portal.
“The guys on our roster now who came in through the portal and had NFLPA agents, we probably weren’t the highest bidder." D’Orazio said. "But they chose Utah because Utah puts people in the NFL versus some other programs they were looking at. That’s the reason they got here."
At the end of the day, D’Orazio wants players to make an informed decision about their future. Other programs may not have the same philosophy when it comes to recruiting. But at Utah, there's a proven concept. And it's not about selling the parents on empty promises.
“My whole thing has been educating the families," D’Orazio explained. "Agents try to convince them that they bring something to the table that justifies the money being paid. I’ve just been educating people that they have the power. I tell them, ‘Here are the questions you should be asking’ and ‘Here are the [commission] percentages you should be strict (with).’
"My goal is that if I do that for all of our top 2028 players right now, by this time next year I’ll be dealing with half the amount of college agents. And if I do it for all of our top 2029s next year, eventually – by education – all of the people in our program are represented by NFLPA agents who care about their long-term best interests. And no [agent] is accepting more than five percent. There’s no reason to do that."
D’Orazio worked as special assistant for the Kansas City Chiefs under Andy Reid for three seasons from 2013-15 before another three with the Philadelphia Eagles from 2016-18.
Being able to see the football operations side of the business at both levels is key to his position with the Utes. Every player coming through the door has NFL dreams, but only a small fraction get to that level. This is why D’Orazio has an honest approach with recruits coming to Utah.
“Ask every school what their plan is over four years to develop you,” D’Orazio said. “We have a distinct plan for you. What is the other school saying? Are they trying to give you a number to get you in for one year? Or are they focused on that development over four years as a human being, as a player, and then as a brand?”
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