It was a million times less precise but there were a half dozen or so publishers that did recruiting. They were very good In general but it was all a lot more regional than now. That cut both ways because we could pull guys that wouldn't even be on the radar of an Alabama for example. Now every major school is national. Mac was actually on the cutting edge of national recruiting because he had to-- not enough elite guys in the Rockies.
Point remains however: recruit and win.
Not top 20, but UVA has been in the 20s 3 of the last 4 years despite being crap except for an 8 win 2011 campaign. We'd all give our left nut for that. As alluded to, location matters. However, it doesn't excuse our current state of affairs. CU should be posting top 40 classes (and many years far higher) with consistency.
Some times the problem is coaching. Sometimes the kids are overrated.
You can't measure heart or desire.