I tend to think that recruiting rankings are EXTREMELY important for the most part. If you sign a ton of 4 and 5* guys, you're going to have a great shot at BCS games. BUT, a lot of those stars are given depending on the school you go to. Over the years, and I've followed arkansas recruiting since 2002 or so, I've seen arkansas commits lose stars as soon as they announce for arkansas. Meanwhile, LSU can get a previously unranked guy to commit and his next evaluation - BAM - kid's a 4 star. If you're a previously unranked player and you commit to someone like LSU or UT, you're going to be given the benefit of the doubt.
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