What is your definition of elite? Personally I think Enunwa is close to an elite prospect. He was already blown up to a very high 3 star status with a 5.7 rating, right on the bubble of 4 Stars that starts at 5.8. Eric Martin was the same way last year out of the same HS. I would call him an elite LB prospect right now, Pete Carroll thinks he missed out on a great one. IMO I see elite prospects at 3 of the 4 skill type positions on Offense. Chase Harper is an elite prospect at TE for sure, 4 Stars and 28th best overall JUCO prospect nationally. Chase is also a 3 to play 3 guy like Kinnie was so that adds to his value. Braylon Heard is an elite prospect at RB for sure, 4 Stars and 57th best overall prospect Nationally per Rivals. I would argue that NU got an elite player at WR, at the very least a very good one in Enunwa. Kenny Bell isn't a slouch either, he is also a 5.7, 3 Star prospect; Kenny had an offer from TT to play WR, that is pretty good to me. Overall I love what NU has in those 3 spots; while I would have loved to have Curtis Carter still, those 3 positions were filled very nicely IMO. NU doesn't have a QB in this class YET. If NU gets Carnes, a 4 Star prospect and 7th Best Dual-Threat QB Nationally per Rivals, I would classify that as an elite get. If NU pulls that off I see elite prospects for sure at QB, RB, and TE, and I would also say that the WR position is just fine as well.
I'm not exactly sure what my definition of elite is. It's certainly not a concrete value. If you look at my posting history you'll see that I'm certainly not a "star-gazer" but if a prospect has 5 stars it is probably safe to say that he has elite potential.
I'll agree with you that Enunwa is very close to what I'd consider
elite. (However, many times I'm more impressed by an offer list than by stars. Take Jay Guy for example. I'd argue he is elite (even though he is a 3 star) based on his HS production, his measurables, and his offer list. On the other hand, Enunwa has good measurables and good HS production, but was only offered by us and Washington State. That might raise an eyebrow.)
Chase Harper may or may not be elite. Even the recruiting sites agree that their rankings of JUCOs are hit or miss. Also, if we are talking skill positions it depends on what your definition of skill positions is. I'd argue that in the offense we ran in 2009 TEs are not skill positions. For whatever reason, Watson used them primarily as blockers. (Don't even get me started on the waste of McNeill's talent.)
Also, while Carnes may be the 7th best dual threat QB in the nation I'd guess that he is probably not in the top 20 for quarterbacks overall. When you are competing for a QB with the likes of Western Kentucky and South Florida there is probably a good chance that he does not have elite potential. Also, can you tell me that you aren't concerned that we are still scrambling to find a QB with only a couple weeks left before signing day? I know the coaches have said that we will only take a QB if he is the right fit . . . but they sure look to be in a panic to find someone.
Anyways. All we're talking here is potential. They still have to produce on the field.