Here's what I remember from the classes
2022: Bledsoe, Ross, Bryant, Swanson
- Amidst 5-7, we had bigger issues to worry about than recruiting, but it was a good class overall. DE was the bigger issue because we still had DT talent on campus. Bledsoe and Ross were good developmental takes, Bryant set a good floor, Swanson was questionable. A-
2023: Mitchell
- Mitchell was a good get, but we needed more than one. Bo caught a lot of criticism for missing on DJ Hicks and guys like Markis Deal. It wasn't a great DT class but everyone knew the class was too small. C+
2024: Hills, January, Robinson
- We knew coming into the year that we needed a big class and it had to have a couple studs. January and Hills are fine, but we had advantages in those recruitments. Robinson was great, but we needed another stud to pair with him. Bo caught a LOT of of flack for missing on McKinley, Jonah-Ajonye, Jackson, Smith, Blocton, Faga, Hibbler, and Lindsey. A bunch of those weren't even his fault, but we all knew the class wasn't good enough after only taking one in '23. C+
Point is, the consensus was definitely not that Bo was knocking it out of the park with underrated gems. Yes, people said he had good evals, but also that DT was the worst-recruited position on the roster. There's also been discussion about the changing recruiting landscape. A lot of the misses were NIL choices/whiffs. Even this portal cycle there has been talk about how resources were reallocated towards DT.