Tre Boston stood just outside of the North Carolina locker room — the last collegiate football he’d ever intercept still in his hands. Barely an hour had passed since UNC’s Belk Bowl Championship win against Cincinnati Dec. 28, and Boston already had the future on his mind.
Agents. Training. The combine. Pro day. Draft day.
“Oh, man — I started thinking about that after the game,” said the senior safety, laughing. “I gotta sign (with an agent) here pretty soon, really tonight. It’s crazy to have that transition from college to the NFL that fast. I’m doing it in less than a couple of hours.”
By no means, though, was that the first moment Boston had considered his future — that’s a process that begins much sooner for UNC football players.
Within the last 18 months, the University has implemented an agent and advisor program that aims to connect players with agents and promote dialogue between them before the football season even begins. That way, they’ll be prepared to sign with an agent in anticipation of the NFL draft in May.
“We want that done, coach (Larry) Fedora wants that done, between January and July, so we allow seven months,” said Associate Athletic Director Paul Pogge. “And we encourage that communication. We think it’s good for the guys to have sometimes multiple opportunities to sit down and visit with somebody who might represent them and help them handle their money someday.
“We want it to be well-thought-out decision at the appropriate time.”
That philosophy is an uncommon one, Pogge said, noting that some schools provide a single day for those arrangements.
Pogge runs the agent-screening program at UNC, designed to protect and educate student athletes as they prepare for the future. He compares it to a career-services office.
