You read that ESPN breakdown of the 21 five-star kids in the 2027 class and half of them are projected to schools that weren't even on the map ten years ago. NIL leveled the playing field they say. All it did was let these kids chase the highest bidder instead of earning a spot in a real program. I think back to the 1980 team that won it all with Herschel and a bunch of Georgia boys who committed because they wanted to wear the silver britches not because some collective promised them a truck. Now you got Texas and Oregon and even Texas Tech popping up in these recruiting battles and it just feels hollow. The portal killed loyalty and NIL killed the grind. We got Kaiden Prothro committed which is fine but I will believe he shows up in August when I see him in the weight room not when he posts a graphic. Recruiting used to be about relationships and proving yourself in the spring game. Now it is a bidding war and I hate it.