Not to speak for Donkey, because he can do that quite well himself, but for those of us who are more skeptical, this is the measuring stick.
- We are not about anecdotal over proven stats. Meaning, we want highly rated classes because over time the numbers win out. That doesn't mean that a 3* skill player can't be a superstar, but your example at CU loses some credibility because it was done in the PAC12 and not a real conference.
- This is not to say that you can't take a 3* or a project guy, but these should not be the core of your class as with Butters.
- Offer sheets matter, but you have to pay attention to who they really want. Bama has so many plan B's, C's, etc and grayshirt candidates that it's ridiculous. Offer sheets come into play deeper in the cycle when comparing offer sheets of other prospects. But really by then, it becomes clearer who the big boys are targeting.
- 3* OL are okay if they fit your blocking scheme. Hevesey is looking for specific physical traits. We have 2 4*'s and 2 3*'s. The 4*s are OT and the 3*s are OG, which is preferable given the numbers. Some DT's are ok to take as 3*s, but the success grading DT's is easier than OL.
- If a kid hasn't camped, that should be taken into consideration.
These are questions that posters ask all the time to get a feel for how good the guy is, because not many of us can break down film and talk about technique and know what we are talking about.
So when someone says a CU commit isn't worth taking, you have to ask why a LA kid needs to go to CU for a P5 offer? Doesn't mean it's a bad player, but when you're working %'s, a CU commit is fairly low on the P5 scale. Now Gibbs is a different example. Dude is a GT commit, who lives just up the road from them, who is an Army AA, who had several big Universities on his ass. Not just an offer, but a priority.
As for Clayton, there are injury concerns, which make him a great pickup for CU, but not necessarily for us. I wouldn't mind him in the class, because someone has to take over for Pierce/Lingard. We'll have a room of Wright, Davis and Clement. So you add Clayton and hope that one of those four pans out.