UNTLifer

I have fond memories of attending games at Fouts with my parents.  My dad would go to the old Buddies/Win Dixie on University to buy raw peanuts.  We would roast them at home, put them in paper bags and head to Fouts.  I didn't know any better and thought it was the best place ever to spend a Saturday.  Since my Dad was on staff, I also had the opportunity to get on the field and attend practices.  I thought they were second best to the Cowboys.  Coach Mitchell, Coach Rust and Coach Fry were just awesome people to know and always made me and my friends feel an important part of the program.  My brother also sold drinks in the stands, something I always wanted to do, but they stopped that service by the time I was old enough.  Hate to see old Fouts go, but Apogee is just an awesome place to watch a game, bring my kids and cheer for the Mean Green regardless of whom they are playing.

I just took the time to look at our recruiting classes as far back as 2010.  The three star recruits we "signed" during that time were Wheeler, Johnson, Smith, Hamilton, Jenkins Ozougwu,  Dillman, McNair, Bradley, Barr, Gray, D. Smith, Bendy, Grindle, Chumley, Goree, Fonzale Davis, Ivery, Garner,Tucker, Davis, Nelson, B. Feldt, Busby, Lewis, DQ Johnson, Schrapps, Roberts, Lancaster and Dilonga.
Gone/Never Got Here: Johnson, McNair, Bradley, D. Smith, Bendy, Grindle, Goree, F. Davis, Ivery, Nelson, B. Feldt, Busby, Lewis, Schrapps and Lancaster.
Too Early To Tell/RS: Smith, Ozougwu
Early Signs Look Positive: Hamilton, Wheeler, Jenkins
Got Here But Didn't Contribute: DQ Johnson
Injured/Yet to Contribute: Dillman, Chumley
Remaining:
Barr: Off and on starter on OL.
Gray: Two year starter at safety.  Very solid, but I would argue McClain (2 star) has been better.
Garner: Contributed and improved a lot this year.  Could be a star.  Still has 2 years remaining.
Tucker: Productive backup RB.
Chad Davis: In and out of the starting lineup.  It has been reported that he struggled with injuries the last two years.  Productive, but was he our best DB?
Roberts: Productive DE that had his best year as a Jr. when he led the team in sacks.  Did he live up to 3 star expectations?
Dilonga: Another solid, productive DE who had a combined 5 sacks his last two year.
 
My point with this quick research is to note that ratings are just ratings, and highlights why I like to wait a couple of years before judging a class.  Yes, higher rated recruits would seem more likely to become productive, but at our level of recruiting this hasn't played out, for whatever reason.  The following 2 star recruits have been as good or better during the same time frame:
16: Bussey, Fine, Baulkman, Ejiya, Wilson, Muhammad, Turner,
15: Brooks, Murray, Combs, Thompson, Young, Finney, K. Smith, Woodsworth
14: Miles, Rutherford, T. Johnson, Tauaala, McClain, Moore, J. Wilson
13: McKinney, J. Jones, Schilleci, Scott, Ellis, Kidsy, Minor, Smiley, Moore
12: Wallace, Rollins, Kelly, Rentfro, C. Harris, Marshall
11: Akunne, Bellazin, Jimmerson, Lee, a. Orr, Polk, Lemon, Brooks*, Whitfield, Simpson**, Power**, Swarn**
10: Johnson, Y'Barbo, Z. Orr, Byrd, Chancellor, Wright, Abbe
* Brooks said he was leaving school to become a truck driver, ended up playing at a JUCO and being pretty darn good at Baylor.  Wonder if Baylor orchestrated this?
**Had great offer lists.  Swarn did nothing and was gone after a year or two, Sampson was a bust and Power was good, but not close to some of our more recent, and not as highly rated, TE's like Blount, Gardner, etc...
Ratings are for us to argue over and beat our chest on the first February of each year.  The real results show down the line.

Did you see this:
"However, according to Richard Davenport, who covers Arkansas recruiting for WholeDogSports.com, Biagi wasn’t just your typical graduate assistant. Davenport shared his thoughts about Biagi the coach and recruiter.
“As a graduate assistant, one thing head coach Petrino did was put a lot of responsibilities on their GA’s,” said Davenport. “It was Marty and [current Notre Dame offensive coordinator] Chip Long. Marty got a kid from North Carolina named Chris Smith, a defensive end who is now with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Arkansas rarely, if ever recruits North Carolina. That was a big get. He had a lot of offers. For a guy to get Chris and his family to visit that summer and then for an official visit during the season and then sign him, that’s big. Marty was also able to get a receiver from Virginia, Quinta Funderburk, another four-star recruit. He was the lead recruiter on both of those guys. That in itself is quite impressive.
“I remember the kids really liking Marty. He related well to him. He was younger and is still a young guy. They really enjoyed the way he recruited and related to them. The guys on the team enjoyed being coached by him."
From this article:
http://notredame.247sports.com/Article/Marty-Biagi-leaves-Notre-Dame-new-UNT-special-teams-coordinator-50499266

This is past due and would show the media and those that are misinformed, that we were the first to integrate.

This young man highlights how the star system works and how many young men that don't attend summer camps can get overlooked.  McCalister, in two years, has 31 tackles, 2 passes broken up and 1 interception on defense.  On offense, he has 117 rushing attempts for 499 yards and 7 TD's with 8 receptions for 112 yards and 1 TD.  Nothing really to write home about, 4.2 yards per rushing attempt, and overall, not much production, but his athletic ability is obvious, and he has participated in summer camps to exhibit his ability to many "recruiting experts."  I would love to sign kids like this, but I also prefer young men that produced on the field. 
This is an area that Dickey excelled at when building our teams during the early Sun Belt run.  DD found young men that were overlooked because they might not have the exposure of others.  Patrick Cobbs and Johnny Quinn, two HOF members, are perfect examples.  I believe, that to really build our program and to make it attractive to the 3 and 4 star kids, we have to find these young men that just produce when the lights come on.  They run faster and harder during a game than against the clock and just produce.  Chris Hurd is another great example.  Gamers will allow us to build this program, and then once it is built, we will be able to attract the higher rated recruits that we are currently after yet rarely sign.  Just make sure we have a coaching staff like the one we have currently that are relentless on the recruiting trail.
(Of course, after watching his highlights, I am not sure how accurate those stats are that are listed on his page.)

No, but you can get up and leave your keyboard in silent solidarity when they start to type.