‘Popeyes meme child,’ indicators NCAA NIL deal: Dieunerst Collin explains

Earlier than TikTok, there was Vine. And the youngsters who went viral on Vine are all grown up now. Working example, the “Popeyes child,” now 18, is an NCAA Division II faculty soccer participant, and simply signed an NIL cope with Popeyes. 

Who’s the Popeyes child? 

Dieunerst Collin, you won’t know the title, however you’ll probably know the meme.

Ten years in the past, Collin, now 18, was the unassuming child ready within the Popeyes soda fountain line together with his cup when a person recorded himself approaching Collin, apparently mistaking him for Lil Terrio, one Vine’s hottest stars on the time.

“Terrio at Popeyes,” the person says, earlier than turning his digicam on Collin. “Say oooh (Terrio’s catchphrase)…. Ooh,” he instructs Collin, who says nothing and delivers meme-perfect aspect eye. 

The Vine raked in hundreds of thousands of views (or loops as Vine referred to as them). Screencaps and GIFs of Collin’s response have been deployed on-line to precise awkwardness ever since. 

Collin indicators an NIL deal

Because the meme lived on, Collin quietly grew right into a formidable soccer participant. In 2021, he turned a state champion together with his highschool soccer staff in East Orange, New Jersey. 

Now, standing 6 foot 1 and 330 kilos, he’s an offensive lineman at Lake Erie Faculty’s Division II soccer program.

Twitter caught wind of Collin’s athletic success Tuesday, and shortly referred to as on Popeyes to signal him to an NIL deal, which is actually a model sponsorship deal for NCAA athletes.

Collin stated Popeyes reached out to him on Twitter, and confirmed that they landed on an NIL deal. 

“Solely factor I can say is that I can be selling that enterprise like loopy,” Collin advised USA TODAY Wednesday. “I truly love Popeyes myself.”