Ketchum...Your writing in No. 2 - A loud declaration ... that explains how a Top 10 Class is more like a Top 25 than a Top 5 Class was excellent. I had read your prior articles about your recruiting research and while I had a hazy feel regarding your conclusions, I had not sufficiently understood to be able clearly to articulate them....I can now...at least as an Executive Overview.
It make up from your wording that you believe you previously quite frequently had driven home the point; my only explanation for my lack of understanding is that there often was so much material to digest, I overlooked the basic conclusion (or you might simply have needed to hit this mule a few more times with that 2X4 for it to sink in). Certainly the reaction of the UT fanbase in general, and even many of those on OrangeBloods, given their comments, have not fully understood this concept.
I find this type of analysis extremely informative and hope you continue (for not only my own education, but so I can better tune out the 'sky is falling' comments after losses like Saturday).
I know you have broken this down by position, but again I feel I do not fully appreciate the information you were delivering on a position-by-position basis. For example (and I do not know if what I am saying is correct) there might be certain keys to recruiting
...let's call them Ketchum's Keys to Recruiting Classes...(that repetition of the Hard-K is quite...catching...lol) such as:
- Take all the 5-Stars you can gather, buy or steal
- Take all the High 4-Stars you can (and tell us...again...what is and is not a High 4-Star, which you did in No. 2, above.)
- And when you cannot take a 5-Star or High 4-Star at a position, it is more important to take WR's who are Low 4-Stars instead of 3-Stars, but it is not as important to take a Low 4-Star over a 3-Star OG (or whatever). And do this by each position.
I make up that you feel you have given us these position conclusions before. But if for no other reason, by telling us again, we might get it...
AND...you get to create the Keys to Recruiting that is branded by your name (have I sucked up enough?)
All this opens many avenues of discussion on Recruiting Strategy for UT. But before I list those topics that I would like to explore, I would like to digest Ketchum's Keys.