"One free year of eligibility for everyone" is both obviously the right move for right now and, in terms of long-term ripple effects, an almost unfathomable development.

The entire premise of eligibility rests on constant attrition to make way for the next class. Upending that for even one year is going to materially affect roster management and playing time for like a decade.

Expanding scholarship limits is easy enough. But for every starter who comes back is a guy behind him who has to wait an extra year to start, which means another guy behind him has to wait an extra year to see the field, which means another guy behind him etc. ad infinitum.