One could argue that Oregon got where they are today as a top 10 recruiting destination, starting with Belloti, by offering all those whacky uniforms. Im fairly certain their recruiting started to tick up around then. Having Chip Kelly in the transition didn't hurt.
Alabama is not as a good an example because it relies on two things: good coaching (which was absent between 1996 and 2007) and heritage in a fertile region. There are about 10 teams that dont need to change their uniforms (Notre Dame, Michigan, Nebraska, USC, et al) that will still be able to recruit on their name. After that there are about 100 teams vying for eyeballs. When NFL teams make all these radical changes it makes some of the 10 schools like a little stuffy and conservative.
Alabama is not as a good an example because it relies on two things: good coaching (which was absent between 1996 and 2007) and heritage in a fertile region. There are about 10 teams that dont need to change their uniforms (Notre Dame, Michigan, Nebraska, USC, et al) that will still be able to recruit on their name. After that there are about 100 teams vying for eyeballs. When NFL teams make all these radical changes it makes some of the 10 schools like a little stuffy and conservative.