16 class had some good individual performers but its overall distribution is skewed to the low end. Because of that, and the loss (for one reason or another) of many of the best players in 15, the actual games played from 17-18 had way too many underclassmen, and the results speak for themselves.

There is time to turn around the 20 class, but if it doesn't happen, then it basically creates no margin for error in subsequent years. Because all the best players are being pressed into emergency service, regardless of age, in the present, there will be very little backstop when they graduate. So, come 2022 VT will need both the 21 and 22 classes to be, at minimum, pretty good, with multiple players who are good enough to play as true freshmen, because 2022 is going to be largely manned by 4th/5th year players who previously sat on bench, and then the top recruits of the 21-22 classes.

Basically, any 1 bad recruiting class is not good. 2 bad classes less than 4 years apart is really bad. 2 bad classes exactly 4 years apart is right on the edge--it can be stopped from being really bad, but even a slight nudge will knock it down.