The most important thing you can do in recruiting is to stack talented classes on top of each other for two primary reasons:
1) You create an internal culture full of competition and merit for the best players playing
2) I haven't run any kind of numbers on the topic but the reality is that there's a large % of 4 and 5 star players that for whatever reason will turn out to be JAGs or flame out for whatever reason
Smalls had every opportunity over the last 2-3 years to prove that he had a path to seeing significant snaps on the field ... he never proved that he was that guy
Wish him the best leaving the program but this is the right move for both sides
The worst thing that you can do when looking at recruiting is become too invested in the success of any individual player
