All head coaches struggle to have good initial recruiting classes unless they’re an internal hire on a program that’s in good shape, like Lincoln Riley at Oklahoma or Ryan Day at Ohio State. We call these initial hauls “transitional classes”, and they tend to be small and lightly regarded.
It’s a coach’s first class after a full recruiting cycle that really sets the tone for their tenures. Those classes not only have to do the normal work of building for the future and providing a handful of instant-impact players, but they also have to make up for the shortcomings of the transitional class.