© Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
Once upon a time your favorite player *always* had a senior year.
The annual flurry of early departures trading one final year of free tuition for a rookie contract don't feel like recent phenomena, because they aren't. Can you even remember when it was just assumed everyone would play in college for four years?
I'm old enough to say yes, I do. Leaving the amateur ranks prematurely was a rarity back when college sports found me in the 1980s.