I’m not sure I can buy the “recruiting has been fine” argument. The twins they just signed are intriguing so I’m open minded there, but I’m not sure how you can look back on his tenure and come to that conclusion?
I liked the first class, but I think when you take into account their performances here and at their transfer schools, you can really only say Toney developed into a good college player. XJ was fine but erratic and I think it’s fair to say McGowens was a disappointment. Champagnie is the best recruit of Capel’s tenure but the rest of that second class was awful. Hugley looks to be developing into a good college player but now Femi/Collier are gone and Jeffress has shown very little indication that he can contribute meaningfully at this level. Last year was just Santos who had very, very brief moments in year one but I think it’s optimistic to project him out as anything more than a role player.
Depending on how low you set the bar, you could look at that and say it’s OK but I just can’t get on board. Capel’s one defining trait coming in was that he could elevate recruiting. If you want to shrug and say “well, it’s on par with what we’re used to” that’s fine but the whole point of Capel’s appeal was that we should be bringing in a better level of talent.
