Of course it affects recruiting....

You can be sure previous inexplicable losses like the Arkansas debacle are the reason studs like Landon Collins, Cam Robinson, Speedy Noil, Duke Williams, etc. bolted the state. It's why kids like Tyron Johnson, who would love to play at LSU, feel they have no choice but to do what's in their best interest and look elsewhere. That's not negativity, just reality. This has been a gradual progressive decline that has brought us to where we are today.
Expecting change for the better without changing the head coach is the definition of insanity.