I was taking a look at the implications of having a #1 recruiting class, and it seems to be a rather strong indicator of a national championship in the future. For instance, we had the #1 class according to Rivals in '03 and the #2 class in '04 and we won the NC in '07. Florida had the #1 class in '05 and won this year. USC is in the top tier every single year in recruiting, and they are in the top tier every single year in the NC hunt. I think people may get a bit impatient with all of the hype of this year's class, but I say if we get another top 5 class next year, in 3 maybe 2 years, we can expect to be in the NC game.
I'll have to disagree w/ you on this one. I think ND is a perfect example to illustrait this point. From 1988-1994, ND finished #2 twice, went undefeated w/ a NC once, and was actually winning bowl games. During that time, ND had top 5 recruiting classes, and parlayed those classes into success. When Holtz left, ND's recruiting started to slip (actually just before he left), and the results on the field started to show. Now I know Weis has fallen on his arse w/ 2 good classes, but I think it takes more than 1 or 2 good classes to create the type of success LSU, USC, & Florida are experiencing. It has to be sustained. It also helps to have a good coach, but that's another topic.
Supposedly one of the reasons for Holtz leaving had to do with his inability to get the higher ups to loosen their academic standards for football recruits. He felt the administration was cracking down and he was at a competitive disadvantage.
I will wait and see but I was thinking recent success. I will give them time to all get on the field because the success of a class can really be determined until 4 years down the road.
