NIL has convinced these kids they are free agents at 19 years old. That ESPN piece on how the portal killed QB competitions hit me right in the gut because I remember when we had real battles under Coach Stallings in the early 90s. Jay Barker and Brian Burgdorf went at it for two straight seasons in fall camp, neither one threatening to leave if they didn't win the job. They earned their snaps through August heat and film study, not by who had the biggest bag of cash waiting for them in the portal.
Now every kid who loses a spring battle is gone by Tuesday. We used to build depth the old fashioned way, you sat behind a senior for two years then took your turn. Now our QB room changes every single winter. The loyalty is gone and the NIL money killed it.