all of you were talking around points.
The general consensus is best recruits best teams. This is true, but the teams this actually applies to really all are in the top 10 recruiting, with top 15 having outside shots. The best class in history we've had was 17. It took a unique system to get them to produce one acc championship. I do not believe that class would have produced under patrick nix. Nesbitt was a worse thrower than ball but he was a bull of a runner. Nix would have tried to mold him into a pocket passer. So nesbitt doesn't become JFN but a kid who is benched after his junior year or transitions to defense. (which is where gailey used him in the pros). Our defense is probably about the same. Again the change to the spread offenses in 08-09 and tenuta's trouble with them afterward suggests that even with our defensive talent he would have had the same issues adapting.
Football isn't Jimmys and Joes Or x's and Os. Its both. The difference is when you have great jimmy's and joes. but your x's and os are vanilla or subpar you get a typical SEC down year, LSU suddenly wasn't lacking for 5 star recruits. Florida hasn't been lacking for 5 star recruits. Texas AM and outside but soon to be sec Texas hasn't been lacking in recruits. And Hell the Jacksonville Jaguars aren't lacking in first round draft picks and potential probowlers. If you can't coach em... none of that matters.