Recruiting matters, stars matter, development matters, and hell, YOU matter if you need a midweek vote of reassurance. The silly notion kept in small circles that stars do not matter in recruiting is preposterous. Now, this does not mean two- and three-star players are irrelevant, it just means they are less likely to be successful.
While nothing is decided until the prospects take the field, an early predictor of success is which team can win the offseason. Which team can recruit and collect the assets with the perceived highest ceilings and greatest chance of success at the college level.