If what I posted is simply generic then 99% of the post here are either generic or just plain ignorant. It may be generic to a coach because it is, but it sure isn’t for most people on this forum.

I don’t see anyone posting about how the mental gymnastics these kids have to go through from HS super human hero to just an average, to below average Joe at a major college, really affects so many of these highly rated kids. It’s a real thing and is much harder to overcome than a playbook or the weight room. The 17/18/19 year old kid having to compete with a 22 or 23 year old man.

They don’t all come into college with a high level of maturity and the discipline it takes to go through failure on a daily basis when they were just an All American, All State, local celebrity a year or two ago.

Most people just assume that they should transition because of how easily they dominated in HS. So if you have coaches who target both the high level skilled athlete with the maturity needed to transition into college and play with men or young men then it can absolutely impact your classes overall success rate.

If you simply target the best athletes in HS with the highest ranking because, of course you have the magic maturity potion, then you might be surprised with the amount of highly rated kids who don’t make it. How many end up transferring because that’s the easy way out and is the popular thing. You might be surprised how many of them don’t perform well off the field or how many just plain fail because they were not ready for reality.

Social media just made things even worse for the majority of young people. It can be great when used properly as can all the other resources and accolades. It’s a fine line from reality and fantasy though. It’s so much easier to fall into the fantasy world. A coach who has the experience to separate the average athlete from the mentally strong athlete is the one who will likely have the most success.

I guess some coaches have the ability to bring in any type of athlete with all the physical abilities and mold them mentally as well but I sure wouldn’t want to build my foundation that way in this new era of CFB. It may have been different 5 years ago but not anymore. You can fall behind real quick if you keep this mentality after consecutive class failures. Recruiting is just different now and for new coaches at big programs, it’s really difficult to balance these situations.