Good analysis. I wonder if a certain hypothesis of mine could be validated or not. From following recruiting on this site the last few years, it has occurred to me that we have shifted our focus somewhat. Targeting kids with high character and academic aptitude has always been a priority, but it seems to me we have been spending more effort on the upper end of the academic spectrum of late. Call it the Myles Autry or Travis Custis Effect if you will, but it seems we've shied away from the riskier lower end and focused more on the upper.
In addition to kids achieving and keeping eligibility, an added benefit of this effort is keeping kids on board in the final weeks leading up to NSD. Kids with an eye on academics and a future after football (the 40 year plan) are more likely to see the high value of a GT degree and be less likely to be courted away by factories at the last minute.
As we have witnessed, we had no academic casualties and only one defection (blessing in disguise) in the last class. Moreover, we had some great last minute flips of our own, though I don't think any of those are a result of my hypothesis outside Brad Stewart.
