I disagree that it's meaningless.

by ReginaldVelJohnson , Tuesday, February 24, 2009, 12:26 (6076 days ago) @ Jeff (BGS)
edited by ReginaldVelJohnson, Tuesday, February 24, 2009, 12:32

Teams like Baylor, Texas A&M, South Florida, Michigan State, and UCLA suffer because while they recruit close to home, they are stuck with the leavings of a bigger program that is likely going to take most of the top tier talent in the area. As for teams like Illinois, Syracuse, Rutgers, and Purdue, they aren't exactly in the middle of talent-rich areas (though Rutgers probably has the best location out of the group). Recruiting close to home in Florida is a lot different than recruiting close to home in Upstate New York.

The schools mentioned in that paragraph are the premier programs in the middle of talent-rich areas. I fail to see how that isn't an advantage. I'm not saying it's impossible to succeed recruiting nationally, but it is more difficult.