Originally Posted by
Hot Rock
Rankings matter and to say they don't is incorrect.
Looking at who wins national championships, they get the most 4 & 5 star players. This is not up for debate, it's facts. You can end up like A&M if the coaching is subpar but you cannot win a title without the best players and then good coaching, in that order but:
The gap between the #1 vs 15 ranked team in talent is much much greater than the 15th ranked to the 30th or even 40th ranked team.
Many times the 50th ranked team is better than teams that have recruited in the top 30. 3 stars often are better than lower to middle 4 stars after a couple years of growth and development. How hard they work & some mature later in life. There are a lot of factors that go into how good a player is in HS to how good he can become. A proper diet and training can transform players greatly and then you look at some of these kids have terrible technique and need to learn how to play vs others that have had excellent coaching.
I like signing Mississippi players or guys in the 250-300 mile radius of Starkville because a lot of those guys go unnoticed just like Jonathan Davis. He didn't go to camps, blossomed later and if he had been a known commodity, he possibly would have been a 4 star. he definitely has NFL upside. You can with those guys, no matter their recruiting rank.