I’m biting. I don’t know why, but I am taking the bait.
In the first place, you have to consider how star rankings are generated. Most likely they are a product of nerds compiling data over who is offering who and how many are chasing certain kids.
When you think about how few 5 stars there are, where anybody with a pulse as a talent scout could identify them as being ahead of the rest of the field at that point in their lives, the track record is poor. 50 percent success rate when having the pick of the litter is not that great. All the big programs are chasing the same guys. The star rating is a product of recruiting staffs and actions, not some wizard talent scout at a publication.
My advice to any recruiter would be the same. Ignore the star rating. Make sure the player in question has legit speed and length for the position. Go with your gut and what you see on tape, what you see in person, and what opposing HS coaches tell you. Then make sure character is there. If a kid you like is 5 star, fine, if he is a 2 star, fine.
Chasing the same kids everyone else is will never separate you from the pack unless you are bammer, simply because of numbers. You need 20 in your class, there are a total of 50 5 star players out there. Finding the kids that have equal potential without being chased by the masses necessarily, will work for everybody. The players are out there.
I always go back to Calvin Johnson as an example. Not 5 stars. How? Simply because of who was chasing him. How could any player have been better suited physically for his position at the time? He was the most physically ideal player for WR in the entire history of the game for crying out loud.
