I have never seen Koi Perich play, but I would guess that if he went to Ohio State, he would not play for a few years. Just my guess.
This comment made me think. Koi is just an average recruit for OSU. If you're a high level, but not out of this world prospect, do you have to be careful about going to a blue blood program where they have so much depth, you might not even see the field or, if you do, you might be a Jr or Sr before doing so? They certainly aren't going to pay special attention to you. You're just a number.
On the other hand, you come to the U of M and the staff is focused on you, getting you to the pros is very important to them because they only get a few each year if they are lucky. You'll likely start early. Your NIL might even be better because, again, you're the focus of the program and potentially your state, not just a guy. If you're good, the NFL will find you!
We don't seem to win with guys like Koi very often. They can't resist the allure of the blue blood. Is this potentially another sign of NIL and the portal actually helping more evenly distribute talent? Malachi Nelson, #1 QB recruit in 2023, is in the portal from USC and it appears because of competition there. Just another example of how hard it is to stack up talent vs. in the past.
The top teams will still have an awesome starting 22, but less depth. Teams below the top will have a better starting 22, but also less depth. Starters for non-elite teams should be better because of their ability to relatively overspend in NIL to keep a few key guys at home in recruiting, and the ability to bring in portal players to fill in weaknesses in their starting lineup that were either backups someplace else that was deeper or are leveling up in program? If true, this should increase annual variability at almost all levels because losing a few key players to injury will blow up a teams year more than previously.