I share your feelings on the upside of this team. Despite the limited season, some players significantly improved and Bro really broke out. Noyer broke out, but we have seen some limitations--time will tell if he is able to overcome the shoulder injury. It was great to see Lewis perform well, so with the TN transfer, I'm not as concerned about the QB position. Gonzales played excellent as a True Frosh. Isaiah Lewis was a pleasant surprise.
CU has several places of need and need to continue to build overall quality depth. I agree that the recruiting infrastructure needs an overhaul, however Scheck makes a good point that CU does have some experienced recruiters on staff, so they just have to perform. I expect some attrition, and hopefully it is good attrition. I hope that CU is active on the Transfer market, at least in properly evaluating and reaching out to players that can be a fit. IMO, on the Transfer market, unless your team is loaded, you need to be in the top 1/2 of your conference, and 40 or better in the P65. If you are Top-30, then I would see a substantial jump within the Pac12.
I'll be interested to watch Oregon's bowl game. My suspicion is that the overall talent of the PAC-12 is well below that of its P65 peers. If that is the case, CU can compete well in conference. IMO, UT was bigger, stronger, and faster at practically every position.
My hope is that the defense can sort of recruit itself somewhat. Again, the coaches and infrastructure have to come through. Despite Texas out-athlete-ing and gashing the defense, it was able to shine for a few series in the 2nd quarter. Despite the gashing, I hope the consensus is that Summer's is building an up and coming quality PAC-12 defense that is fun to play in. Maybe some quality recruits or transfers can look at film and view CU's defense as an opportunity in waiting. Certainly, help at LB is a must and they can never have enough good players in the secondary or on the Dline.