The walk-on culture that built programs like ours is dead, and the new portal rules that killed the sprinng window are just the final nail in the coffin. I remember when a kid from Lindsborg would show up to fall camp, earn a spot on special teams by his sophomore year, and become a captain by his senior season. That was the path. Now, if a kid isn't starting by spring practice, he just hits the portal. There's no more development, no more earning your stripes. Seeing Oklahoma State bring in 50 transfers or Colorado with 43 proves there's no room for the walk-on anymore. They'd rather have a mercenary with two years of tape than a kid who bleeds blue and gold and needs three years to grow. The soul of the game was in those stories, not in these instant roster rebuilds.