They're just adjusting to the current reality.The Will Howard USC thing is just weird. So they had a 5 star top rated qb redshirting behind Williams. And now he’s in the portal. Howard is a decent p5 qb but throw away the young talent for a one year rental is insane to me. He’s not going to do anything remotely similar to Williams. I guarantee they’ll have to go get another one next year.
If you are a team prepared to pay for results through NIL, a high school recruit just isn't a good investment. Ultimately you'll wind up with a budget for QB's and plan on filling it eveyr year or two.