(For the tldr crowd a 3-star good kid or a 5-star bleeding hemorrhoid?)
Let's say you are a coach and the football fairy wakes you in the middle of the night and presents you with two candidates for recruiting.
Kid #1 is a 3-star quarterback. He's a good kid from a decent high school program. He will come in and redshirt his first year. 3rd string his RS freshmen year and run some scout team. Sophomore year a good quality 2nd stringer who gets some mop-up playing time as well as coming in to play a game and a half when your starter goes down with tweaked knee. Junior and senior year he starts every game. Junior year, he leads you to the SEC championship but loses. You go on to win your bowl game and finish with a 12-2 record. You finish in the top 10. Senior year you win the SEC championship, but lose in the first round of the NC tournament. He goes on to the pros and stays in the league for 5 years as nothing more than a clip-board holder and scout team QB.
This kid will never be a problem for you. He is a leader on field and off. He is an academic All American. He is a credit to your program. You look forward to the day that he will come back and be a mainstay "face of the program" because he is a credit to you and the school. He is the kind of kid you want your daughter to marry.
Kid #2 is a 5 star can't miss QB. He's a PIA from the word go. He led his high school team to three straight state titles his freshmen through junior years. (His senior year was spent in juvenile hall.) If you can keep him sober, out of jail, academically eligible and clean enough to pass scheduled drug tests, he will start every game his freshman and junior years. You will national titles both years he's playing, setting you up in the recruiting and coaching ranks for years to come. (His sophomore year he was on probation and suspended from the team for illegal drugs and domestic abuse.)
You can't wait for this kid to leave. You encourage him to go pro because you want him off the team so badly. He has been nothing but a locker-room and playing field cancer from the beginning. His tantrums and off the field shenanigans are the stuff of TMZ legend. You do all you can to keep this kid away from the media, donors and your family. You fail though, because he knocks up your 16-year-old daughter. You are going to be connected to the boy for the rest of your exploding-ulcer-shortened life.
Who do you recruit?
Let's say you are a coach and the football fairy wakes you in the middle of the night and presents you with two candidates for recruiting.
Kid #1 is a 3-star quarterback. He's a good kid from a decent high school program. He will come in and redshirt his first year. 3rd string his RS freshmen year and run some scout team. Sophomore year a good quality 2nd stringer who gets some mop-up playing time as well as coming in to play a game and a half when your starter goes down with tweaked knee. Junior and senior year he starts every game. Junior year, he leads you to the SEC championship but loses. You go on to win your bowl game and finish with a 12-2 record. You finish in the top 10. Senior year you win the SEC championship, but lose in the first round of the NC tournament. He goes on to the pros and stays in the league for 5 years as nothing more than a clip-board holder and scout team QB.
This kid will never be a problem for you. He is a leader on field and off. He is an academic All American. He is a credit to your program. You look forward to the day that he will come back and be a mainstay "face of the program" because he is a credit to you and the school. He is the kind of kid you want your daughter to marry.
Kid #2 is a 5 star can't miss QB. He's a PIA from the word go. He led his high school team to three straight state titles his freshmen through junior years. (His senior year was spent in juvenile hall.) If you can keep him sober, out of jail, academically eligible and clean enough to pass scheduled drug tests, he will start every game his freshman and junior years. You will national titles both years he's playing, setting you up in the recruiting and coaching ranks for years to come. (His sophomore year he was on probation and suspended from the team for illegal drugs and domestic abuse.)
You can't wait for this kid to leave. You encourage him to go pro because you want him off the team so badly. He has been nothing but a locker-room and playing field cancer from the beginning. His tantrums and off the field shenanigans are the stuff of TMZ legend. You do all you can to keep this kid away from the media, donors and your family. You fail though, because he knocks up your 16-year-old daughter. You are going to be connected to the boy for the rest of your exploding-ulcer-shortened life.
Who do you recruit?