LOL, "fair"? They're in business to sell subscriptions and clicks. You as a recruiting "guru" know that UT and all other major programs employ recruiting consultants. Their job is to find the right players with the right potential. They actually get paid to do what you say isn't "fair"... as do the coaches. That's just not how the recruiting sites and reporters get paid.Comparing how evaluators see players coming out of high school compared to how they are viewed coming out of college and placing it on the same level isn't fair at all.
You have to build a roster with quality depth. My point isn't that Bama et al aren't doing that. My point isn't that most of the kids who get 5* ratings aren't very good prospects. My point is that there is plenty of talent that isn't labeled 4/5* for a coach who knows how to find and develop it to compete at the highest level.High school players are way more so wild cards. That's why you have to continue to stack high-profile recruits year after year. And there are several examples where NFL GMs take guys that were rated 5 stars that didn't do much production wise in college
Dabo did what I'm talking about. His recruiting rankings got better after he actually beat Bama and won an NC. On the whole, his results have not been better since the recruiting sites started "loving" his recruits. He found 3* that were actually 4/5* talents.
You watch this all the time. You know that the difference between a top 5 class and a #15 class can very easily come down to signing some mid-3* guys who are better than 4* guys. The margin between those ratings is past the ability and staffing the recruiting sites have.