All good things must come to an end - Update:
So we visited with our son this past weekend before their last home series. As we sat at breakfast I could tell something was bothering him so I finally asked him "what was he thinking about?" He got a bit emotional and told us he had put a lot of thought into things and that he just doesn't love the game anymore and doesn't feel he can continue playing. He wanted to talk to the head coach on Monday morning and let him know but we encouraged him to go through his exit meetings and that could help clear things up for him moving forward (keep in mind my initial post on this thread about the meetings he had had with the coaches).
He had his exit meeting yesterday around lunch and was basically told "we love you in the program but don't see a lot of opportunity for you moving forward as we have several JUCO and a few fifth year transfers moving in". That helped solidify his decision.
I was hoping he might consider transferring to a JUCO or a local D2 to continue playing but at this point he is pretty discouraged and has lost the motivation to continue putting in the work. Maybe it changes in a few weeks, but he is also interested in pursuing a business degree at a large university where he can enjoy the student life.
All that being said, and hindsight is always 20/20, I think the JUCO route for most high schoolers is definitely a great option in todays market (unless you are a true stud). I think if he had went to a JUCO and was able to garner play time and more opportunities he may still want to continue playing. But, that isnt where we are and thats OK.
Thanks all for the valuable information and if anything changes I will post an update!