SB Nation's college football stats ninja Bill C. takes a look at the impact a No. 1 overall signing class and mid-to-low rated recruiting hauls have on their respective teams years down the road, from perennial powers like Alabama to Kansas and Missouri, who both experienced unprecedented success four years ago, but took different paths in recruiting.
Kansas, for instance, hit rock bottom thanks in part to little benefit of their Orange Bowl season translating to the following years' signing classes. How the Jayhawks went from the BCS to the Big 12 basement is usually measured in terms of coaching, but Bill C. argues the shallow pool of talent left in Lawrence by Mark Mangino certainly had a hand in the implosion of KU football:
While it was certainly understandable for Turner Gill to be fired after two feckless years in Lawrence, he wasn't really left with much talent. Kansas signed two four-star recruits following their 2007 breakthrough, and neither made much noise.
Check out the full breakdown of Missouri, Kansas and the meaning of quality recruiting here.
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