As I understood what Golden said, the 80 total was not a deliberate limit, it was simply a consequence of how the numbers worked out notwithstanding that he used up all the available 2011 and 2012 scholarships. He had 8 (or 9, I don't remember which) available from 2011, which he backfilled with the early enrollees. He still had the full complement of 25 for 2012, which he also utilized (if I have the numbers correct).
Still, that did not take him up to the full 85.
The NCAA could hit us a number of ways, I guess. Perhaps cut us down below the 85 for a number of years; also, it could also impose limits on the yearly number we can sign, perhaps cutting us down from the normal 25 to something in the high teens or low twenties.
That's why Golden was smart to fill up as much as possible the available 2011 and 2012 slots before we are reduced in the future. I don't think it's necessarily true that we could sign 20-25 "next summer (2013)" because it all depends on whether or not the NCAA cuts us down from 25, and how much it cuts. The fact we would be under 85 would not allow us to add back to the yearly total any slots we are under 85.
There are a lot of ways the NCAA can hit us, by cutting down yearly numbers from the 25 limit, or from the overall total of 85.
Of course, I guess we could add to the lowered yearly total, as btcane seems to suggest, based on attrition.
I'm not necessarily one who shares the opinion that we will come off lightly with the NCAA. I haven't followed the matter as closely as a lot of people, and perhaps it is true that the NCAA investigators have had trouble verifying many of Shapiro's allegations, and that the NCAA wants to shift it's focus to punishing wrongdoers, not the institution, but I remember how badly the NCAA hit us in the '90's. It was a shock, and I don't know how we survived.
Perhaps some others have a better understanding of the numbers and limits. I don't pretend to be an expert. If I'm wrong, please correct me.
