Revisiting the 2017 and 2018 classes

[No_Fly_Zone]

Again, I largely agree, which is why Miami's "bust rate" is so brutal, compared with other schools.

Let me see if I can spin this another way.

Miami HAS HAD highly recruited classes for the past 15 years. Maybe not as good as in prior years, but **** respectable.

Rivals Class Rank
2005 - 7
2006 - 14
2007 - 19
2008 - 5
2009 - 15
2010 - 16
2011 - 36
2012 - 9
2013 - 20
2014 - 12
2015 - 26
2016 - 23
2017 - 11
2018 - 6
2019 - 35
2020 - 12

The two times we fell out of the Top 26 were coaching-change years. We have recruited like a Top 25 team, but have not, in fact, BEEN a Top 25 team.

We have missed on high-end SoFla blue-chips AND we have had terrible attrition (and, yes, terrible coaching/development).

And when the classes aren't as good as they once were, the attrition hits us harder than it does for, say, Alabama.

Makes sense. The effect is worse on us because: (1) our recruited talent is worse to start with; (2) our coaching/development/evaluation is worse; (3) we generally have fewer resources; and (4) they have a more recent history of winning (and winning often).

A program like Baga can survive high attrition and recruiting misses because they're going to reload with players at least as talented thanks in part to their status as a "winner," their resources, their incredible recruiting budget, and their coach's generally greater recruiting acumen. And whatever talent does stay, Baga has better (and more complete) staffs to coach and develop it to maximize that talent.