re: This is what 5/5 was supposed to feel like

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Feels like the all American game productions have swandived since this era. … NIL changed it all

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You’re definitely right that it was all a much bigger production back then and has since tapered off, but i don’t think it has anything to do with NIL—notwithstanding the number of people who want to blame NIL for anything and everything they don’t like about the sport—the AA game commitment segment(s) had already lost its stature as an “event” before NIL ever became permissible. The real reason for the change is the introduction of the Early Signing Period.


Back then, all the drama was compacted - there was only one opportunity to get everything squared away, and teams and players alike were scrambling to lock in spots and fill out classes, and everything was all up in the air at once, with no do-overs. This created great drama from a fan perspective, like you alluded to, but it also incentivized a lot of bad faith and shady dealings on the part of coaches, which in turn incentivized players to do everything in their power to look out for numero uno (the two of which combined to produce the aforementioned drama).

Now, however, players have the opportunity to lock things in ahead of time, and have the ability to take another month to figure it out if something happens. Accordingly, programs have a lot less to gain by playing games, and thus fewer games are played. All of this adds up to produce a process with fewer last-minute moving pieces, where more players are looking to just make a decision ahead of time, lock in their spot, and focus on their senior season. So: Less drama