Stars are a pretty good indicator or else it would be a coincidence that Alabama, LSU, and FSU are winning national championships and not Eastern Michigan.
So you think Nick Saban could win national championships at Eastern Michigan? Come on. Talent level matters and the teams with more 5 star players are usually better off. Coaching matters as well.
So? at this point they are ahead of us. I'd rather UM be in the 4 game playoff and go get blistered in the NC game like ND or as you perceive MSU. Rather than sitting in 8th place... looking up at our top 2 rivals playing for BT championships.
MSU de-panted UM last year and so would have "overrated" Stanford. We could not even hang with mediocre KSU. MSU outmauled a very physical Stanford team that dominated Oregon defensively. Both those teams are built in a way Hoke wants, and instead we are playing patty cakes with UConn and Akron. Also MSU went out west on California turf and beat a West Coast team, something UM stunk at even in its best years. Give credit where it is due - three 11 win seasons in 4 years, we'd die for that. They were a few stupid PI calls away from a NC game appearance.
Trae Waynes their 2 star CB and Calhoun their 3 star DE are both projected as 1st rounders in 2015 mock drafts IF they leave early. In theory both could come back for 2 more years - that's serious (young) talent. One of their safeties Drummond is getting talk as a late 1st or 2nd rounder. So that is 3 players in the 1st 2 rounds who were not seniors along with Dennard with a 1st round pick this year. So that is four players on that 2013 defense that are projected 1st/2nd rounders out of 11. Marcus Rush doesnt have the NFL DE height but will probably be like Schofield, a 4th round type you take as a backup first/eventual starter role.
They had a few guys who were "college stars" but not the protoypical NFL athleticism/height - hence why they were 3/4 stars out of HS not 5 stars. Bullough and Allen from the LB crew off the top of my head. Their one returning LB Taiwan Jones is a NFL body but doesnt have the same production as Allen or Bullough - on paper he goes 3rd round next year. So with Rush and Jones that is 6 of the 11 starters being NFL picks inside the 4th round. With 3 others being "college guys but not NFL guys" - Bullough, Denicos Allen, Isaih Lewis. That's every single player on their defense but the two DTs. And one of those DTs was a 6th year senior - so that helps a college defense playing guards who are 19-20 years olds.
But bigger picture outside of Bama and LSU and maybe a school or two outside of Florida I don't know many defenses that had 3 1st round draft choices on it - and potentially 4.
Miles after Carr and RR.
In the Mal-zone!
/walks out.
Highly ranked class? "Awesome. Greatest class ever"
Lower ranked class? "Sneaky good. Underrated. Off the radar."
Just like weight gains and losses, all recruiting classes are good too