The recent college football recruiting season, followed in the last couple of weeks by the NFL draft, caused me to think about the vagaries of recruiting (or drafting) talent, versus training once the recruit has been signed up. Look at how many top NFL draft picks and first-round picks flop, versus the number of mid- or late-round picks that go on to have solid, if not stellar, careers for evidence that the recruiting/drafting game is not an exact science.
In the recent NFL draft, no University of Alabama player was taken for the first time since 1970. When a co-worker commented about this to me, I responded that Nick Saban will change that situation because he will recruit top-flight talent - as witnessed by the success Les Miles has had at LSU largely with Saban recruits and the fact that the Alabama had the top-ranked (by the recruiting services at least) signing class this year. While recruiting prowess is a great start toward producing a top-ranked team, what happens after the recruits are signed is just as, if not more, important.
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