Generally, schools attract talent at the point where their program has been in recent history... "Where" as in pecking order.
There are various recruiting myths out there that fly in the face of facts. One is that a step up in conference affiliation gives your recruiting a bump up, or should. That's a myth. No data support that.
The K-rag years were affected by K-rag, not by our recruiting strategy. Good recruits don't wanna play for a coach that sucks.
Here's our three-year moving average of Rivals class ranks:
2007 41.7
2008 44.7
2009 60.0
2010 63.0
2011 54.7
2012 41.3
2013 38.0
2014 40.0
2015 36.3
2016 34.7
The swoon between 2009 and 2011 were the result of K-rag's debacle. 2007 reflected the best years in Petrino 1.0. Now we're back to that level, maybe a tick better.
But it will be years before we move in the 20s or higher on a consistent basis. That's who we are. And Petrino can win with those classes, just like Michigan State, Wisconsin, and TCU has...