Recruiting is such a crap shoot after you get past the sure fire top 100 or so can't miss kids in every recruiting cycle and even then there are some that miss. Skill guys on offense WR and RB are fairly easy to project on defense CB and Safeties are usually fairly easy. Linemen on both sides are the hardest to figure out.
Wisconsin regularly outperforms their recruiting rankings because they are so good at developing linemen, especially O-linemen and they move guys from other spots to the line. Their starting Rt Tackle played QB in HS. Lots of their LB's were guys that played other positions in HS and moved to their spots.
They also know what they are looking for and don't worry nearly as much about recruiting rankings. They are not afraid to offer guys that maybe are only 2* if they fit what they want. They take a lot of Midwest players and they frankly are not usually evaluated as well by the services as on the coasts.
Don't get me wrong they get a lot of quality guys mixed in especially at RB. Then they develop the heck out of them.
The thing you have to remember is that Wisconsin has been doing the same basic thing with players and player development since 1990 when BA got to Madison. That system was developed over a long period of time. Iowa has been working their system since 1999 when Ferentz got their. Nebraska hasn't worked the same basic system on offense for more than 4 years in a row since 2003. They have worked how many different defensive systems in that time, I count 4.
That is by no means an endorsement that MR should be kept though.
