Sunday Sit-down with state representative/former Mizzou lineman Kurtis Gregory

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

ABC 17's Chanel Porter brought on Missouri State Representative and former Mizzou offensive lineman, Kurtis Gregory in this week's edition of Sunday Sit-down.

The two discussed the hot topic in college athletics right now, NIL (name, image and likeness) and how it is changing the world of college sports as we know it.

"Programs like the University of Missouri, we need all the help we can get," Gregory said. "We're going up against schools like Alabama, Texas A&M, Florida, the programs have got the historical ambiance to them, and this gives us an opportunity to compete on a national level to get those top tier blue chip recruits to come into Columbia, Missouri."

Gregory has been a huge advocate for NIL in the state and most recently Missouri made a new amendment to the NIL law that he was a big part of.

"This puts us to the forefront of the NIL game," Gregory said. "One of the ones I'm most excited about was we're going to give an opportunity for our coaches and athletic personnel to go in and actually discuss NIL deals with high school recruits."

As a former Mizzou football player, Gregory says he has seen first hand the hardships that athletes had to go through, which is why he's using his voice after football to change that.

"I remember I had teammates that their parents couldn't come watch them play, like the first game that parents came to was senior day," Gregory said. "They were taking their scholarship check money when we got a stipend every month and they were sending most of that home to help support the family while they were sleeping on friends couches."

Gregory says his future goals for Missouri's NIL is, "to push the proverbial envelope."