You mention some great points.
Go look at SLCC and some of the other top JUCO schools and their roster in 2025. It will be filled with kids that were D1 commits they were pushed out from D1 because of roster space.
Another thing that is crazy is more and more money is starting to be dumped into JUCO. Historically it was a bit of a grind because the JUCO atmosphere was lower budget, ect. Not anymore. We have toured SLCC facilities and I would say they are as nice as some lower end D1 schools and as good IMPO as UVU if not better.
A D1 JUCO school can offer full ride and housing which makes it a very attractive option.
We had the PBR JUCO showcase this past week in Bama for all the JUCO schools in the state. There were about 140 4 year schools there watching kids.
We talked with one JUCO that has been talking with my son and they said they had 6 kids on their roster get offers from 4 year schools that day.
It's just a completely different now days.