One of the bigger topics to pop up today was that some other website leaked out that Samson Okunlola was coming for a secret, unofficial visit. While it's difficult to keep things under the radar in the age of social media and cell phones, it can still be done with proper planning and discipline. The hypothetical (maybe) situation I'm going to talk about in this thread definitely isn't anywhere near the importance that 17 year old's whereabouts are for some of our more ravenous fanbase, but hopefully some lessons can be learned from this absolutely completely hypothetical and made up story so I can kill two birds with one stone:
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About 18 months ago, Oklahoma and Texas shook up the CFB world by announcing they were applying for membership to the SEC. While it was a surprise to nearly everyone and out of the blue, it's not like they woke up on a random Tuesday and decided to do it. Instead, they spent months wrestling with the decision and, more importantly, getting all of the moving parts into place. Most people wanted to believe that Texas A&M officials and Bob Bowlsby from the Big 12 were incompetent for not realizing what was going on, but I wouldn't place too much blame on them. Once something is known by more than two people, it's no longer a secret, it's information. The most important factor in keeping information a secret is to carefully limit who knows it.
In order for the TX/OU-to-SEC move to happen, there are six base constituents who have to be 100% in-the-know:
Before OU and TX agreed to move forward with leaving the Big 12, they had to shore up their operational and information security. It doesn't make sense for Hartzell and Harroz to communicate directly since those kinds of people would be easily recognized and would draw attention no matter where they went. Instead, intelligent operations use what is known as a "cutout" to represent them (a trusted intermediary - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cutout_(espionage) ). Speaking with a cutout is considered the same as speaking with the primary constituents directly.
The addition of these two individuals brings the total people in-the-know to eight:
The previous eight make up what I refer to as, "the Secessionists."
Now for a deal to be struck, it takes two (in this case, three) to tango. The counter party is the conference that OU and TX wished to join: the SEC.
On the other side of the deal would be two more individuals:
When you are working with secrets, you want to compartmentalize and anonymize all information as best as possible. Yes, both the Secessionists and SEC had a few of their inner circle network guys know, but they were only told a small sliver of what was wanted (ie: help with a specific task which didn't include any sort of names or critical details). These ten individuals are the only ones who knew the full extent of the caper they wanted to pull off.
That's not to say other parties weren't given some sort of indicators (analogous to Samson possibly telling 7-on-7 teammates that he's going to be out of town to go on a trip "down South"). The SEC needed to take a quiet temperature check before moving forward with the Secessionists:
With a pool of at most a dozen people who know the full extent of the move, it's very easy to contain that secret for months and the offseason during the pandemic was a perfect time to do just that. The only way Ross Bjork (Texas A&M AD), Bob Bowlsby (BIG 12 Commissioner), and others would have found out is if they specifically had a spy directly in that inner circle. However, proper vetting procedures and a strict adherance to protocol should nearly obliterate any risk of leaks. They hired an outside firm/expert ("Mr. Williams") to make sure all the tracks are being covered and nothing is leaked (ie: all documents shredded, every phone call is encrypted on burners, every meeting has a plausible backstory for why those school leaders were in the same city, etc). Mr. Williams then had OU and TX work out of a flop house near Norman, Oklahoma because doing it anywhere in Texas would be too risky. Hartzell and Harroz stayed away from Birmingham for obvious reasons while Smith, Johnson, and Miller met in a few major cities where they could be ghosts.
Once all of these parts were put into place and the Secessionists/Sankey felt comfortable moving forward, Mr. Williams then reached out to a particular person they trust ("Mr. Anderson") that's well-connected everywhere. Due to the nature of his work and disconnect from direct CFB operations, Mr. Anderson didn't raise any particular alarm bells with anyone he would speak with or places he would visit. Mr. Williams tasked Mr. Anderson with reaching out to ESPN off the record to see if they would be open to renegotiating the contract for the SEC Network carriage rights if particular properties were added to the conference. ESPN sent over a very short list of properties that would fit the bill. Mr. Anderson then reported back to Mr. Williams with a simple, "Yes."
Mr. Williams organized a final meeting with Smith, Johnson, and Miller where the findings were then relayed. Smith, Johnson, and Williams then reported back to their relevant parties and the respective Legal were then notified of the schools' intentions. A few weeks later, the information is passed down the chain where it lands on the desk of a middle manager who leaked the impending bombshell to A&M representatives. A&M then leaked the story out to a friendly reporter.
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Multiple parallels can be drawn from the above tale, but it all simply breaks down to: stealing secrets is extremely difficult if the source doesn't want them stolen. I'm sure that I could potentially PM a few guys here on the forum and one of them might throw me a bone and name a secret recruit. That action would be breaking protocol no matter how much the person may trust me. Apply that ethos to secret recruiting visits and keep everything need-to-know. If it's being hinted about on social media, message boards, or out at the watering hole by recruits, current players, beat writers, or even bag men, then your security has failed.
I guess I've had a somewhat unique career progression.
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About 18 months ago, Oklahoma and Texas shook up the CFB world by announcing they were applying for membership to the SEC. While it was a surprise to nearly everyone and out of the blue, it's not like they woke up on a random Tuesday and decided to do it. Instead, they spent months wrestling with the decision and, more importantly, getting all of the moving parts into place. Most people wanted to believe that Texas A&M officials and Bob Bowlsby from the Big 12 were incompetent for not realizing what was going on, but I wouldn't place too much blame on them. Once something is known by more than two people, it's no longer a secret, it's information. The most important factor in keeping information a secret is to carefully limit who knows it.
In order for the TX/OU-to-SEC move to happen, there are six base constituents who have to be 100% in-the-know:
- Jay Hartzell - TX President
- Sharon Wood - TX Provost
- Chris Del Conte - TX Athletic Director
- Jospeh Harroz Jr. - OU President
- André-Denis Wright - OU Provost
- Joe Castiglione - OU Athletic Director
Before OU and TX agreed to move forward with leaving the Big 12, they had to shore up their operational and information security. It doesn't make sense for Hartzell and Harroz to communicate directly since those kinds of people would be easily recognized and would draw attention no matter where they went. Instead, intelligent operations use what is known as a "cutout" to represent them (a trusted intermediary - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cutout_(espionage) ). Speaking with a cutout is considered the same as speaking with the primary constituents directly.
The addition of these two individuals brings the total people in-the-know to eight:
- "Mr. Smith" - TX Cutout
- "Mr. Johnson" - OU Cutout
The previous eight make up what I refer to as, "the Secessionists."
Now for a deal to be struck, it takes two (in this case, three) to tango. The counter party is the conference that OU and TX wished to join: the SEC.
On the other side of the deal would be two more individuals:
- Greg Sankey - SEC Commissioner
- "Mr. Miller" - SEC Cutout
When you are working with secrets, you want to compartmentalize and anonymize all information as best as possible. Yes, both the Secessionists and SEC had a few of their inner circle network guys know, but they were only told a small sliver of what was wanted (ie: help with a specific task which didn't include any sort of names or critical details). These ten individuals are the only ones who knew the full extent of the caper they wanted to pull off.
That's not to say other parties weren't given some sort of indicators (analogous to Samson possibly telling 7-on-7 teammates that he's going to be out of town to go on a trip "down South"). The SEC needed to take a quiet temperature check before moving forward with the Secessionists:
- Auburn, Bama, Florida, Georgia were all dropped hints that expansion was a possibility, but no real details. "Hey guys, your TV rights check is about to move from $40M to $100M. Are you good with that? Awesome, sit tight and don't say anything."
- Kentucky, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, South Carolina, and Vanderbilt weren't polled since none of them are a needle mover athletically and they would be happy receiving extra cash.
- Arkansas was left in the dark because of the Jones family and their ties to the state of Texas.
- LSU and Tennessee, while relevant, were excommunicated because their operations are amateur hour and they couldn't even keep their illegal payments to players under wraps.
- Texas A&M and Mizzou weren't told for obvious reasons.
With a pool of at most a dozen people who know the full extent of the move, it's very easy to contain that secret for months and the offseason during the pandemic was a perfect time to do just that. The only way Ross Bjork (Texas A&M AD), Bob Bowlsby (BIG 12 Commissioner), and others would have found out is if they specifically had a spy directly in that inner circle. However, proper vetting procedures and a strict adherance to protocol should nearly obliterate any risk of leaks. They hired an outside firm/expert ("Mr. Williams") to make sure all the tracks are being covered and nothing is leaked (ie: all documents shredded, every phone call is encrypted on burners, every meeting has a plausible backstory for why those school leaders were in the same city, etc). Mr. Williams then had OU and TX work out of a flop house near Norman, Oklahoma because doing it anywhere in Texas would be too risky. Hartzell and Harroz stayed away from Birmingham for obvious reasons while Smith, Johnson, and Miller met in a few major cities where they could be ghosts.
Once all of these parts were put into place and the Secessionists/Sankey felt comfortable moving forward, Mr. Williams then reached out to a particular person they trust ("Mr. Anderson") that's well-connected everywhere. Due to the nature of his work and disconnect from direct CFB operations, Mr. Anderson didn't raise any particular alarm bells with anyone he would speak with or places he would visit. Mr. Williams tasked Mr. Anderson with reaching out to ESPN off the record to see if they would be open to renegotiating the contract for the SEC Network carriage rights if particular properties were added to the conference. ESPN sent over a very short list of properties that would fit the bill. Mr. Anderson then reported back to Mr. Williams with a simple, "Yes."
Mr. Williams organized a final meeting with Smith, Johnson, and Miller where the findings were then relayed. Smith, Johnson, and Williams then reported back to their relevant parties and the respective Legal were then notified of the schools' intentions. A few weeks later, the information is passed down the chain where it lands on the desk of a middle manager who leaked the impending bombshell to A&M representatives. A&M then leaked the story out to a friendly reporter.
---
Multiple parallels can be drawn from the above tale, but it all simply breaks down to: stealing secrets is extremely difficult if the source doesn't want them stolen. I'm sure that I could potentially PM a few guys here on the forum and one of them might throw me a bone and name a secret recruit. That action would be breaking protocol no matter how much the person may trust me. Apply that ethos to secret recruiting visits and keep everything need-to-know. If it's being hinted about on social media, message boards, or out at the watering hole by recruits, current players, beat writers, or even bag men, then your security has failed.
I guess I've had a somewhat unique career progression.
