I think coaching 3*s and a bunch of DITR is way different than coaching a bunch of 4*s and 5*s. It'd be interesting to throw Snyder in as HC at Alabama and see how he did it.
I don't like using the term DITR. They found lightly recruited players to perform a specific thing they wanted them to do.
John Hubert was lightly recruited, but he runs hard, doesn't turn the ball over, is a good blocker, and he gets a good YPC because he's a grinder back that helps benefit our clock draining strategy. The coaches saw that, recruited him, and he's a three year starter.
Lucas was a 2-star kid out of Louisiana, but he was 6'8" with an excellent frame and tremendous lower body strength. With three years of college S&C, you can get a kid with the potential to be an all-conference tackle (which he was) and a relatively high draft pick (which he will be).
The NFL is going to draft the physical freaks because there's always a thought at the next level that the coaches at the previous level didn't coach them right and that "we can do better" and help them meet their potential.
And that's why, if I were a coach at KSU, my strategy would be to find burners that were a little too light (Thompson, Lockett) or large basketball players that could put on 50-60 pounds over the course of 3-4 years so they could be solid linemen after that (Lucas) or highly thought of players that get injured in HS and are considered damaged goods (Leverett). Also, hit the transfer market HARD.
