Even a top notch OC hire may not be enough all by itself.
The damage done by the Stuckey hire was significant. We lost two 4 star freshmen (Rico Flores, Braylon James), and a talented fellow in the way of Tobias Merriweather because of either Stuckey's inability to develop them, or the extra-curricular activities that would have gotten them suspended...
James was the top WR recruit in that class, and a high 4 star. Flores was a lower 4 star, but still had some promising production. I won't pretend for a second that the loss of those two guys doesn't affect us, whether it be directly on the field, or putting a smudge on the reputation.
There's still some good news, though. Mike Brown and Mike Denbrock have a chance to develop the guys on the roster, as well as a trio of talented incoming freshmen. If they can produce good results, then I believe we can flip a WR recruit or two for the 2025 class. If not, then we'll simply have to roll the dice with the transfer portal again.
Make no mistake about it. I'd much prefer that we develop our own talent in-house with guys that we recruited, but if the transfer portal becomes our only option, then so be it.