I think many have confidence that there are already high-level QB's on the roster, including Clifford, but like anything there is some uncertainty until it clearly manifests on the field...so aiming high in recruiting, albeit not a guarantee (and regardless of the impact on the decisions of other recruits in the same cycle), certainly increases the likelihood that one of the roster QB's will develop to be elite, whether it be the current starter, one of the others currently on the roster, or the one from the next class.Fair enough, I appreciate your candor. No doubt, 5 star QB's are awesome...they DO lead to greater expectations and high level recruiting. They can change the trajectory of a team. I think I just struggle with the concept that a 5 star QB is not on this roster is preventative to us achieving our goals. I happen to think Clifford is DAMN good and can be developed to be ELITE. Suggesting that an elite QB could get us over the hump right now with the talent and coaching in place is sort of an indictment on CLifford no? Maybe I am reading too much into it or putting words in someone's mouth, but does'nt that suggest we dont have an elite QB on our team currently?
That said, it seems that unfortunately "elite QB" has now become synonymous with "start as a freshman"...Trevor Lawrence is one such example, but there doesn't seem to be any reason that "start as a freshman" has to be considered as the most important factor to eventually performing at an elite level, especially if the roster already consists of other highly rated players at the position.