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ND Top 250 Blue Chip Recruit Watch Thread Class-2019

chaseball

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This thread should act as a place to post any news/rumors/quotes/scouting reports/updates regarding one of the blue chip recruits listed below.

These are elite nationally ranked recruits (as per 24/7 Sports' Top 247 composite national rankings) with ND offers and legit interest in attending ND. Since all of these athletes are 4 star and above, I will simply be providing their national ranking.

Also, despite their being ~30 targets/names listed here, ND usually ends up with maybe 7-10 of these guys depending on the year when all is said and done. So large majority of these players listed will likely be going elsewhere.

UPDATES:

3/12/18: Moved Quinn Carroll to "probable commit"
3/12/18: Updated national rankings on all players listed
3/12/18: Added WR John Metchie, TE Jude Wolfe, OL Zeke Correll, Julius Buelow, DT Rodas Johnson, LB Osita Okwonu, S Nick Cross, Jalani Williams to "targets"
3/12/18: Removed CB Chris Steele from "targets"
3/02/18: QB Cade McNamara decommits
2/20/18: DT Hunter Spears commits

Committed (2):

DT Jacon Lacey #157, Hunter Spears #247

Probable Commit (1):
OL Quinn Carroll #57


Uncommitted Targets (30):
QB Paul Tyson #221
RB Austin Jones #60, Kenny McIntosh #106, Sampson James #140
WR Garrett Wilson #79, John Metchie #237
TE Hudson Henry #43, Jude Wolfe #239
OL Harry Miller #63, John Olmstead #172, Julius Buelow #174, Zeke Correll #202, Bryan Hudson #211,
DE Zach Harrison #3, Brandon Smith #35, NaNa Osafo-Mensah #111, Bill Norton #129, Joseph Anderson #170
DT Jowon Briggs #76, Mazi Smith #133, Rodas Johnson #201
LB Cade Stover #122, Osita Okwonu #209, Shammond Cooper #246
CB Kenyatta Watson II #222, Wesley Walker #249
S Ronnie Hickman #120, Litchfield Ajavon #119, Nick Cross #183, Jalani Williams #253
 
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Paul Tyson, is ND going to take two QB’s this cycle? Does the staff expect some roster turnover.
 
This thread should act as a place to post any news/rumors/quotes/scouting reports/updates regarding one of the blue chip recruits listed below.

These are elite nationally ranked recruits (as per 24/7 Sports' composite national rankings) with ND offers and legit interest in attending ND. Since all of these athletes are 4 star and above, I will simply be providing their national ranking (lower the # the better the ranking).

QB Paul Tyson #250

RB Austin Jones #60, Sampson James #127

WR Garrett Wilson #90

TE Hudson Henry #37

OL Quinn Carroll #55, Harry Miller #65, John Olmstead #173, Bryan Hudson #198

DE Zach Harrison #4, Brandon Smith #35, NaNa Osafo-Mensah #96, Bill Norton #146, Joseph Anderson #177

DT Jowon Briggs #73, Mazi Smith #119

LB Cade Stover #112, Shammond Cooper #238

CB Wesley Walker #234

S None nationally ranked

ATH Ronnie Hickman #105, Kenny McIntosh #113, Litchfield Ajavon #115
Kenyatta Watson is the no. 211 player and 13th ranked Safety. He visited for junior day and we likely lead for him.
 
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McNamara -- Already committed is rated higher on the composite then Tyson. Also Walker is supposed to use the early OV option for the spring game so that should be a good indicator that he may pop sooner rather then later.
 
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This thread should act as a place to post any news/rumors/quotes/scouting reports/updates regarding one of the blue chip recruits listed below.

These are elite nationally ranked recruits (as per 24/7 Sports' composite national rankings) with ND offers and legit interest in attending ND. Since all of these athletes are 4 star and above, I will simply be providing their national ranking (lower the # the better the ranking).

QB Paul Tyson #250

RB Austin Jones #60, Sampson James #127

WR Garrett Wilson #90

TE Hudson Henry #37

OL Quinn Carroll #55, Harry Miller #65, John Olmstead #173, Bryan Hudson #198

DE Zach Harrison #4, Brandon Smith #35, NaNa Osafo-Mensah #96, Bill Norton #146, Joseph Anderson #177

DT Jowon Briggs #73, Mazi Smith #119

LB Cade Stover #112, Shammond Cooper #238

CB Wesley Walker #234

S None nationally ranked

ATH Ronnie Hickman #105, Kenny McIntosh #113, Litchfield Ajavon #115

Hickman and Ajavon are both safeties at the next level and Watson is a CB / S.
 
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OL prospect, Harry Miller #65, released his final 5 yesterday: ND, OSU, Clemson, Georgia, Stanford

247 "Crystal Ball" has OSU in the lead at 67%, with Georgia and Stanford coming in next tied at 17% each. ND has a lot of ground to make up here.

https://247sports.com/college/notre...iller-puts-Notre-Dame-in-final-five-115314093

While going through a lot of these nationally ranked prospects profile's, it's surprising how many OSU vs ND battles are going on. It's also a bit disheartening as well -- Urban Meyer has a machine over at OSU that's well funded/well staffed/and OSU is simply the more popular destination among 17 & 18 year olds right now.
 
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I know he looks like a Miami favorite at the moment, but why ? can you provide context..
With Deon’s situation and zero talk about him coming back (like there is for Holmes) it’s almost a certainty that Kenny isn’t going to follow in his brothers footsteps.
 
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With Deon’s situation and zero talk about him coming back (like there is for Holmes) it’s almost a certainty that Kenny isn’t going to follow in his brothers footsteps.

I didn't even know he was related to Deon .. thanks for the heads up.

On a separate note, I'm crossing my fingers for ND to make real progress with these top 25/top 50/top 100 types .. those are the types of recruits that are near-locks for making a big impact.
 
I didn't even know he was related to Deon .. thanks for the heads up.

On a separate note, I'm crossing my fingers for ND to make real progress with these top 25/top 50/top 100 types .. those are the types of recruits that are near-locks for making a big impact.

He is a HUGE Miami fan.
His other brother plays for Miami & when ND played Miami the last two years he said in interviews he was rooting for Miami 100%.

His brother was borderline ND eligible & he is even more questionable.

ND is in really good with two others they like a lot at RB.

Quinn was a top 30 guy & borderline 5 Star, & I asked & was told he was the guy most likely to move up to legit 5 Star (like NPF did). Then with no football being played (or camps) since the last rankings, Quinn was moved down to outside the top 50? LOL

That’s why I asked you before about 5 Star vs legit high 4 Star?

NPF was a 4 Star for two years when ND led. Then in the last month he gets moved to 5 Star, picks OSU & all of a sudden he is better than he was?

Quinn is a kid ND has as the number one priority in the ‘19 offensive class & sees him as a 5 Star on the OL. He has the best offer sheet in the country. It is elite of the elite.
(Bama, OSU, USC, UGA, FSU, Michigan, Miami, LSU, OU, PSU, Wisconsin, Stanford...)

If ND gets an OL haul of Quinn, Zeke, Olmstead, & another like Hudson or Krystofic they will have an elite 5 Star OL collectively.
 
NPF dominated when competing with the top lineman of the class. The more he was seen the higher he was ranked. It was not some conspiracy against ND.
QC is composite .967. That is 4*. The elite of elite would be .98+
 
NPF dominated when competing with the top lineman of the class. The more he was seen the higher he was ranked. It was not some conspiracy against ND.
QC is composite .967. That is 4*. The elite of elite would be .98+

Three things:

First, nobody said anything about a conspiracy, pay attention. The point was that some ND fans only want 5 Star guys & not high 4 Stars. They didn’t rave about NPF when he was a 4 Star but once he became a 5 Star they acted like the world is over because ND didn’t get him, even though he was the exact same player.

Second, NPF did not dominate with the others. He was ranked behind Salyer & Mays at the Opening Finals & was the only one if the three to lose multiple reps against the DL in pads. He jumped them in the last ranking because he was the only uncommitted one.

Third, QC is higher now than some of those 5 Stars were (including NPF) at the same point in their career. NPF started a mid-4 Star & was a 4 Star for over two years. He was a 5 Star for a month.
The top 50 will be completely different on NSD as it is from now.
 
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Three things:

First, nobody said anything about a conspiracy, pay attention. The point was that some ND fans only want 5 Star guys & not high 4 Stars. They didn’t rave about NPF when he was a 4 Star but once he became a 5 Star they acted like the world is over because ND didn’t get him, even though he was the exact same player.

Second, NPF did not dominate with the others. He was ranked behind Salyer & Mays at the Opening Finals & was the only one if the three to lose multiple reps against the DL in pads. He jumped them in the last ranking because he was the only uncommitted one.

Third, QC is higher now than some of those 5 Stars were (including NPF) at the same point in their career. NPF started a mid-4 Star & was a 4 Star for over two years. He was a 5 Star for a month.
The top 50 will be completely different on NSD as it is from now.

What ND fans said they don't want high 4 star ? If you are referring to my posts you read something wrong. ND struggles to recruit 5 star, high 4 star, and even 'middle' 4 star in mass. ND does very well with regional ranked 4 star talent that is borderline 3 star. They need to start getting the top 100/top 50/top 25 talent in greater quantity.

As for the final rankings -- i think those always should be given the most weight as those are the rankings where players have been seen most often over the longest period of time, and analysts have deliberated ad naseum over who should be ranked where, etc.

And it's a hyperbole to say that the top 50 will be entirely different come NSD 2019 .. the rankings will definitely change .. but by and large the same guys ranked in the top 50 will still be there on signing day.
 
What ND fans said they don't want high 4 star ? If you are referring to my posts you read something wrong. ND struggles to recruit 5 star, high 4 star, and even 'middle' 4 star in mass. ND does very well with regional ranked 4 star talent that is borderline 3 star. They need to start getting the top 100/top 50/top 25 talent in greater quantity.

As for the final rankings -- i think those always should be given the most weight as those are the rankings where players have been seen most often over the longest period of time, and analysts have deliberated ad naseum over who should be ranked where, etc.

And it's a hyperbole to say that the top 50 will be entirely different come NSD 2019 .. the rankings will definitely change .. but by and large the same guys ranked in the top 50 will still be there on signing day.

I wasn’t referring to anybody specifically.
My point was simply that fans get wrapped up in the magical “5” before a name.
Many ND fans didn’t know anything about NPF for two years, then in the last month when he got his 5th Star everybody thought he was the greatest thing ever. He is the same player now he was as a 4 Star.
He jumped because everybody else committed & he was literally the last OL to announce. I saw him & Salyer, in pads, going for real against elite DL & it wasn’t close. Salyer was a step above.

The last rankings are actually the dumbest for the following reason: they release them after no real football has been played. The release rankings after the season. Then later, with no football being played they release another one? Why? They do it to drive clicks. Especially with the new early signing period. How is Salyer a slam dunk 5 Star & best OL for 2+ years, dominate every camp, then commit to school then drop in the rankings with zero football played?

When I say they will be different I’m referring to how many guys will jump up that aren’t there now. There will be multiple new 5 Stars that aren’t now.
 
NPF dominated when competing with the top lineman of the class. The more he was seen the higher he was ranked. It was not some conspiracy against ND.
QC is composite .967. That is 4*. The elite of elite would be .98+
NPF was so so good. 3 year starter as O$U
 
Watch out for nana osafa mensah committing. Potential 5 star guy someone we don't land often.
 
Watch out for nana osafa mensah committing. Potential 5 star guy someone we don't land often.

Love Nana, and I think ND leads, but he's not a 5 star... Very good top 100-150 player though. Very smart as well. The son of a pair of surgeons.

To me there are 5 defensive recruits that ND is currently in on that make or break the defensive haul in my mind.

OLB / WDE: Brandon Smith
SDE: Joseph Anderson
WDE: Nana Osafo-Mensah
S: Litchfield Ajavon
CB: Chris Steele

There are a number of other excellent recruits in the class as well that ND is in on, but in terms of talent at positions of need, those guys are key, particularly when you look at a 2 year haul.
 
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Watch out for nana osafa mensah committing. Potential 5 star guy someone we don't land often.

Whether or not he commits, his recruitment is just commencing. His offer list is growing.
His is the type of recruitment that will go deep into the cycle.
 
how many WDE and SDE do we take

Depends on who wants in... For example, if ND landed

SDE / DT: Hunter Spears
NG: Mazi Smith
DT: Jacob Lacey
SDE: Joseph Anderson
WDE: Nana Osafo-Mensah

They aren't saying "no" to...
WDE: Brandon Smith
DT: Jowon Briggs
DT: Rodas Johnson
SDE: Ty Robinson
SDE: Bill Norton
SDE: Steven Faucheux
WDE: Zach Harrison
WDE: Cade Stover

If any of them wanted in.
 
Depends on who wants in... For example, if ND landed

SDE / DT: Hunter Spears
NG: Mazi Smith
DT: Jacob Lacey
SDE: Joseph Anderson
WDE: Nana Osafo-Mensah

They aren't saying "no" to...
WDE: Brandon Smith
DT: Jowon Briggs
DT: Rodas Johnson
SDE: Ty Robinson
SDE: Bill Norton
SDE: Steven Faucheux
WDE: Zach Harrison
WDE: Cade Stover

If any of them wanted in.


Let's hope that is the situation the recruitment goes
 
Love Nana, and I think ND leads, but he's not a 5 star... Very good top 100-150 player though. Very smart as well. The son of a pair of surgeons.

To me there are 5 defensive recruits that ND is currently in on that make or break the defensive haul in my mind.

OLB / WDE: Brandon Smith
SDE: Joseph Anderson
WDE: Nana Osafo-Mensah
S: Litchfield Ajavon
CB: Chris Steele

There are a number of other excellent recruits in the class as well that ND is in on, but in terms of talent at positions of need, those guys are key, particularly when you look at a 2 year haul.
Friendly wager, IF Nana stays uncommitted for a long time, he will become a 5 star.
 
any news/updates regarding any of these players? i'm relying on the entire community to keep this up to date.
 
The big dogs don’t really turn up the heat on recruits until late Nov. No matter who is committed to anywho, every commit is a potential decommit. It is hard to get to euphoric in March.
 
Anybody else a little puzzled that ND is only in on 5 or 6 top 100 prospects and only a couple guys who are 5 star rated?

Just seems puzzling how 5-star/ultra elite talent is repelling ND every single recruiting cycle these days.
 
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Anybody else a little puzzled that ND is only in on 5 or 6 top 100 prospects and only a couple guys who are 5 star rated?

Just seems puzzling how 5-star/ultra elite talent is repelling ND every single recruiting cycle these days.
plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose!
 
Anybody else a little puzzled that ND is only in on 5 or 6 top 100 prospects and only a couple guys who are 5 star rated?

Just seems puzzling how 5-star/ultra elite talent is repelling ND every single recruiting cycle these days.

Two things to look at:

Of the 20 or so 5 Star kids about 5-7 were immediately eliminated because of admission. Of the rest, look at where they are. A lot of California, Florida, Texas & Georgia. So ND has to go in and compete with 2-3 elite programs in each of those places for every 5 Star. USC, for example, doesn’t worry about the 5 Stars in Georgia or Florida. They just go after the 5 Stars in on the West Coast. The southeast schools don’t worry about the West Coast kids. ND has to go against everybody in their home states. OSU just lies to kids (see NPF & the just released African-American graduation rates report) & gets whoever.

The last couple 5 Stars within 50 miles of ND ended up at ND (Jaylon Smith & Daelin Hayes).

I don’t know how high NaNa, Quinn, or Ajavon will end up, but I bet all three end up at ND.
 
Two things to look at:

Of the 20 or so 5 Star kids about 5-7 were immediately eliminated because of admission. Of the rest, look at where they are. A lot of California, Florida, Texas & Georgia. So ND has to go in and compete with 2-3 elite programs in each of those places for every 5 Star. USC, for example, doesn’t worry about the 5 Stars in Georgia or Florida. They just go after the 5 Stars in on the West Coast. The southeast schools don’t worry about the West Coast kids. ND has to go against everybody in their home states. OSU just lies to kids (see NPF & the just released African-American graduation rates report) & gets whoever.

The last couple 5 Stars within 50 miles of ND ended up at ND (Jaylon Smith & Daelin Hayes).

I don’t know how high NaNa, Quinn, or Ajavon will end up, but I bet all three end up at ND.

A red headed Irish kid, can he really go anywhere except ND? He should announce on St. Patricks Day.
 
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Two things to look at:

Of the 20 or so 5 Star kids about 5-7 were immediately eliminated because of admission. Of the rest, look at where they are. A lot of California, Florida, Texas & Georgia. So ND has to go in and compete with 2-3 elite programs in each of those places for every 5 Star. USC, for example, doesn’t worry about the 5 Stars in Georgia or Florida. They just go after the 5 Stars in on the West Coast. The southeast schools don’t worry about the West Coast kids. ND has to go against everybody in their home states. OSU just lies to kids (see NPF & the just released African-American graduation rates report) & gets whoever.

The last couple 5 Stars within 50 miles of ND ended up at ND (Jaylon Smith & Daelin Hayes).

I don’t know how high NaNa, Quinn, or Ajavon will end up, but I bet all three end up at ND.

I understand that location plays a significant role in where a recruit ultimately ends up ... but ND has secured only one 5-star recruit in the last 6 full cycles (Tommy Kraemer '16).

During the Weis era, ND was usually good for 2 five star recruits, and then a nice handful of elite top 100 rated players on top of that each cycle. Those days are seemingly LONG gone.
 
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Looking back at the last 4 recruiting cycles (2015-2018) ND has averaged about 8 LOIs from top 250 composite players. Anybody want to take a shot at who the 8 will be in this class?

We have 2 commits already:

1. DT Jacon Lacey
2. DT Hunter Spears
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
 
Looking back at the last 4 recruiting cycles (2015-2018) ND has averaged about 8 LOIs from top 250 composite players. Anybody want to take a shot at who the 8 will be in this class?

We have 2 commits already:

1. DT Jacon Lacey
2. DT Hunter Spears
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Assuming that we have another strong season (10+ wins), I'd bet that we get more Top250-ish players than that

It's hard to determine who a Top250 player is, right now, considering how much can change. I'm also not a big fan or drawing some bright-line in the sand and then acting like there is a huge difference between the 250th ranked player and the 251st ranked prospect. That's arbitrary, artificial, and above all else foolish, imo

So that being said, the Top250-ish players that I think we look best for right now, in order of how likely we are to land them (imo):
  1. DT Jacob Lacey (COMMIT)
  2. DT/SDE Hunter Spears (COMMIT)
  3. CB KJ Wallace (COMMIT)
  4. OL Quinn Carroll
  5. OL John Olmstead
  6. S Litchfield Ajavon
  7. RB Chezar Melusi
  8. SDE Joseph Anderson
  9. S Kyle Hamilton --> Very underrated right now, easily Top250
  10. LB Keith Magguire --> Massively underrated right now, easily Top250, probably a Top100 imo
  11. DT Mazi Smith
  12. CB/S Kenyatta Watson
  13. DT Rodas Johnson
  14. CB Wesley Walker
  15. DT Jowon Briggs --> Would be be higher, but I'm not sure he's a take right now....I think he's somewhat overrated
I'd expect to land about 10-12 of those prospects, potentially more
 
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Assuming that we have another strong season (10+ wins), I'd bet that we get more Top250-ish players than that

It's hard to determine who a Top250 player is, right now, considering how much can change. I'm also not a big fan or drawing some bright-line in the sand and then acting like there is a huge difference between the 250th ranked player and the 251st ranked prospect. That's arbitrary, artificial, and above all else foolish, imo

So that being said, the Top250-ish players that I think we look best for right now, in order of how likely we are to land them (imo):
  1. DT Jacob Lacey (COMMIT)
  2. DT/SDE Hunter Spears (COMMIT)
  3. CB KJ Wallace (COMMIT)
  4. OL Quinn Carroll
  5. OL John Olmstead
  6. S Litchfield Ajavon
  7. RB Chezar Melusi
  8. SDE Joseph Anderson
  9. S Kyle Hamilton --> Very underrated right now, easily Top250
  10. LB Keith Magguire --> Massively underrated right now, easily Top250, probably a Top100 imo
  11. DT Mazi Smith
  12. CB/S Kenyatta Watson
  13. DT Rodas Johnson
  14. CB Wesley Walker
  15. DT Jowon Briggs --> Would be be higher, but I'm not sure he's a take right now....I think he's somewhat overrated
I'd expect to land about 10-12 of those prospects, potentially more

Good list. It is a strong year for defense. Some defensive players would have been higher ranked in ‘18, but due to the strong class are not quite as highly ranked.
 
Assuming that we have another strong season (10+ wins), I'd bet that we get more Top250-ish players than that

It's hard to determine who a Top250 player is, right now, considering how much can change. I'm also not a big fan or drawing some bright-line in the sand and then acting like there is a huge difference between the 250th ranked player and the 251st ranked prospect. That's arbitrary, artificial, and above all else foolish, imo

So that being said, the Top250-ish players that I think we look best for right now, in order of how likely we are to land them (imo):
  1. DT Jacob Lacey (COMMIT)
  2. DT/SDE Hunter Spears (COMMIT)
  3. CB KJ Wallace (COMMIT)
  4. OL Quinn Carroll
  5. OL John Olmstead
  6. S Litchfield Ajavon
  7. RB Chezar Melusi
  8. SDE Joseph Anderson
  9. S Kyle Hamilton --> Very underrated right now, easily Top250
  10. LB Keith Magguire --> Massively underrated right now, easily Top250, probably a Top100 imo
  11. DT Mazi Smith
  12. CB/S Kenyatta Watson
  13. DT Rodas Johnson
  14. CB Wesley Walker
  15. DT Jowon Briggs --> Would be be higher, but I'm not sure he's a take right now....I think he's somewhat overrated
I'd expect to land about 10-12 of those prospects, potentially more

A line has to be drawn somewhere .. and since im using 24/7 composite ratings, i thought the top247 would be a good/easy fit. These are basically nationally rated recruits .. when you get into the 300 range prospects become regionally ranked instead of nationally.

And BK has never landed more than 10 top 247 players in his career at ND in a single cycle. If there's one thing about a coach/program's recruiting it is that it's highly correlated from one year to the next and results on the field don't change a program's recruiting outlook as much as is commonly assumed.
 
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To add to the last post: i realize there's this inherent bias with Notre Dame fans that there's not a lot of difference between players ranked in the top 25/top 50/top 100/top 250 etc. (it's a convenient and bias way for ND fans to look at things given NDs recruiting results during much of the BK era) but each of these cut offs represent a legitimate tier. ND does well with your lower 4 star rated player, where the current powerhouses in college football monopolize much of the top 100 (5 star/high 4 star rated players).
 
A line has to be drawn somewhere .. and since im using 24/7 composite ratings, i thought the top247 would be a good/easy fit. These are basically nationally rated recruits .. when you get into the 300 range prospects become regionally ranked instead of nationally.

And BK has never landed more than 10 top 247 players in his career at ND in a single cycle. If there's one thing about a coach/program's recruiting it is that it's highly correlated from one year to the next and results on the field don't change a program's recruiting outlook as much as is commonly assumed.

This is largely incorrect.

People typically expect on-field results to immediately show up in recruiting, but given the early cycle of recruiting today, strong on-field results typically take 1-2 years to have a real impact...and the on-field results need to be sustained throughout that time period for the impact to be realized. Teams that maintain improved on-flied results for 2-3 years typically see improved recruiting classes following such a period (barring extenuating circumstances, such as coaching changes, NCAA sanctions, etc.)

Furthermore, your claim about Top250 recruits being "national" but Top300 recruits being "regional" is a foolish one, especially at this point in time. Top300 recruits are still top level national prospects. Hell, 4 of the Top10 recruiting classes in 2018 had 50% of their prospects ranked outside the Top250.....and those are elite, elite national classes.

What you're trying to claim just isn't reality.
 
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