BYU has always been a player development program. It's so far from the Hollywood Walk of Fame the players drink milk and eat cookies not sugar cubes.

But many fans make a huge deal over * ratings. Well it's not that 4 and 5 star players don't make it to the league, but many do. Still, a few years ago, Pete Carroll took a Seattle team that did not include a single 4 or 5 star athlete when recruited and won a Superbowl. Guidance and development, game day preparation, coaching decisions and game intellect all contribute to winning. But a look at the 53 man rosters for some current NFL powers reveals that the underdeveloped kid with the big work ethic and heart can make it to the league as well and that is why player and coaching development programs win. Of course it's great when you have the latter along with a lot of 4 and 5 star athletes (ALABAMA) but programs can win as long as the mentoring is great.

The KC Chiefs are a great example. There are 37 players on its 53 man roster who were either unrated, two or three star athletes heading into college. Some were walk-ons. The NO Saints are not a lot different. 33 players in that 3 star or less category.

Bill Belichek has 36 such players. Anazingly about 40% of those players in that category were not rated or 2 star commits. But look at the recent success of those franchises.

Superbowl Champion Tampa Bay has 35 such players including 14 who were unrated entering college. The Rams removed just 2 years from a Super Bowl have 35 players that were rated 3* or less, and 14 no * players and four 2* recruits. If you walk up and down the NFL rosters, you will discover that the majority, over 60% of players in the league were 3*, 2* or Unrated coming out of high school. Yet there are enough 4 and 5 star players going through P5 programs to fill every NFL roster.

My point is, it's nice to get the occasional 4/5 star recruit because they usually pan out. But great coaches (and Kalani is becoming one, Lavelle was one) begin with development of the vision and exercise of the heart. BYU goes out and gets Jimmy's and Joe's that have ambition, intellect, heart and an internal desire that leads to hard work, not daydreams. BYU's coaching staff digs out, nurtures, works at and develops the internal talent missed by people putting stars on players foreheads. It is why BYU is one of the winningest programs over the last 5 decades. I'll take good bones and great coaching always. But it also means if you are a 4/5* player, you need the same drive and work ethic as the unrated, 2/3* dude that is willing to work hard and beat the snot out of you by age 20.