When it comes to football players choosing a school for academics first you could sometimes argue that the name on the diploma is actually less important than for the kid who simply wants to do just enough (in the classroom) to get a degree. For the kid who puts football first (and second) there can be some attraction to knowing they are going to get great tutoring, have their hand basically held for 4/5 years and leave being able to say they got a degree from school X. This is not to say they won't learn something along the way and didn't still have to do the work (well not at all schools of course) but lets not pretend all these kids take the most challenging majors.
On the other hand when you have student athletes that want to challenge themselves with more difficult majors then the name on the degree can be less important. I don't want to insult any of the kids so let's assume the kid is more than capable of holding their own in the classroom...one thing to consider is that there are certain academic programs at certain/many schools that from a scheduling stand point make it nearly impossible for a football player to take. And that can mean quite literally (e.g. beyond sleepless nights studying) such as they have to take a certain class and it is only offered at a time that conflicts with practice. Many schools try to work with the student athletes to make it work but sometimes requirements of the major are just too rigid. Other schools might have more flexible requirements and if a kid picks a school based on that he has indeed put his academics first even if the name on the degree isn't as highly thought of.
