You want some proof that the number of stars don't really mean that much in the long run?

[ellitor 33,114]

sometimes those 3* kids are great. take jonathan wallace for example.

Would not say he is great yet. He has heart and is a leader but his passing has yet to be proven.

[lca408 366]

I think the whole Johnny Manziel thing may be indicative of something else. It wasn't long ago that we all sat in our homes or in the stadiums around the SEC and opined aloud "Man, Tim Tebow is a once-in-a-lifetime player and it's gonna be decades before another guy like him comes along." The year after Tebow left Florida, Cam put on his one man show and when it was done, we all sat around and said, "Man, Cam Newton is a once-in-a-lifetime player and it's gonna be decades before another guy like him comes along." The next year, RGIII did his thing at Baylor and even though the Bears didn't go undefeated, plenty of people sat around saying "Man, Robert Griffin is a once-in-a-lifetime player and it's gonna be decades before another guy like him comes along."

And now we come to 2012. Johnny Manziel has set the college football world on fire with his abilities as a redshirt freshman. And wouldn't you know it - alot of people around the country have publicly said "Man, Johnny Football is a once-in-a-lifetime player and it's gonna be decades before another guy like him comes along."

The fact is, Manziel wasn't alone in ridiculous production numbers and abilities on the field. Mr. Geno Smith of WVU was on track to run away with the Heisman at midseason, before anyone had ever even thought of giving Manziel the nickname - Johnny Football. Across the country in Eugene, Mr. Marcus Mariota was lighting up PAC 12 teams every weekend, showing that a program like Oregon can simply reload with the right athletes in their system, rather than rebuild.

My point is that these kind of QBs and athletes are much more common in college football than you think. We are blown away by Johnny Manziel's stats and performance in 2012, but if Texas A&M had stayed in the Big XII instead of coming to the SEC, would any of us even bat an eye at the young man? If he hadn't beaten UAT, would he have the fame and accolades that he does now? Probably not. No one seemed to notice Colin Kaepernick lighting up the scoreboard at Nevada while Cam tore up SEC defenses in 2010. If the roles were reversed, we'd be saying the same thing about Kaepernick and his accomplishments at Auburn and not batting an eye at Cam at Nevada. People say that a spread offense can't work in a league like the SEC because you have to have a monster at QB to run it, and Cam Newton isn't walking through that door again. Meanwhile, others continue to carve up defenses like Christmas turkeys and routinely garner the same comparisons. These players are out there for the taking, you just have to be smart and attentive to find them. Who knows if Malzahn will be able to reel in the next Cam Newton? Maybe Jonathan Wallace just needs some good coaching and experience to rise to those heights. Perhaps Jeremy Johnson is Cam 2.0 and will show us all that he can be the next great SEC QB.

They may not all have the same attributes as each other, but those athletes are out there, whether they be 2 or 3 stars or mighty 5 stars. Somewhere, some schools are going to get lucky and snag them up, and then we'll hear the lofty comparisons once again.

[TigerPaw1 0]

I would also like to point out that Auburn won their first national title in 50 years the same year we landed a 5 star QB.... Not sure why people have to draw a line in the sand and say "It's either recruiting or coaching." The answer is both. You can be the best coach in the world but if the other guys are just faster and stronger than you then you are going to have a tough time staying in the game. However if you are faster and stronger but can't execute... Well we saw that this year. The key is finding the balance. Bama is on a tear because they are landing the best talent in the country and then developing it. If we can consistently bring in top 15 classes and Gus does what he has been doing his whole career then I think we will be ok