A low risk player means the coaching staff has a pretty good idea of that player's threshold, and are pleasantly surprised if that player surpasses his expected ceiling. In other words, he's a "known" reward.

Mo is definitely a high risk, but he was given a scholarship because the reward level, while much less certain, is extremely high. Of course on his own merits he doesn't "deserve" a scholarship.

But if the coaching staff had the Mo experiment to do 100 times (just go with me here), and 90 washed out, but the other 10 became All-Americans and went on to represent the school well as an NFL player, you gotta think they'd take that risk over a kid that they know is a 4-year high school letter-winner, made Idaho All-State his senior year, and would fit well in their system, but has ZERO shot at being an All-American, and even less at the NFL.

Sucks for the Idaho All-Stater. He "deserves" it. But if there's no way for him to ever be able to do what Mo is capable of doing, I don't blame the coaches for making that choice.