ESPN's got these scouts breaking down 21 five-star kids like they're reading a menu. I rememer when Coach Dooley would find a three-star kid from some Georgia town nobody's heard of and turn him into an All-American. That's how we built this program. Not by reading some scouting report on a kid who's been to five different camps before his junior year.
The whole recruiting industry has turned into a circus. These kids get their star ratings before they've even played a varsity snap. Back in the 80s, we'd watch film on a kid and know in five minutes if he had it or not. Didn't need a fancy website telling us he's a five-star. You could see it in the way he hit somebody.
I look at this 2027 class and I see a bunch of kids who've been told they're special since they were 14 years old. Half of them will transfer twice before they ever start a game. The portal killed the art of player development. We used to take a raw kid and build him up over four years. Now everybody wants instant gratification.
Give me a kid from Valdosta who's been playing football since he could walk and has something to prove. That's how you win championships. Not by collecting five-star ratings like baseball cards.