Recruiting is the lifeblood of a college football program. The transfer portal has become a supplemental source of talent, but programs will never fully replace their ability to develop talent from within.
A player like Dominic Lovett is a great example of this. The former East St. Louis 4-star recruit arrived on campus with significant expectations, but his freshman year ended with a thud. Lovett finished with just 173 receiving yards in 13 games. It should come as no surprise, but Lovett’s biggest struggles came against conference foes. He finished with just 14 receptions for 66 yards (4.