I don't think that recruiting alone is the reason a team is good or not (coaching, facilities, etc. also matter), but I will let this attached table speak for itself. I have listed Rival recruiting class ranking since 2002 for VT, Clemson, Alabama and PSU (since I hate them and they pouch Virginia recruits). The yellow shading in each column shows timeframe of current head coach for each team. Vast improvements in recruiting 1 or 2 years after new head coach and in turn very successful years for Clem and AL to follow. I think PSU is on the rise. VT recruiting, based on other three school trends should have at least shown improvement in recruiting, but it has not.