While the offers out to the top players are nice, I think people are forgetting that Hawkins offered those top players too. A lot of the players with huge offer lists are no-brainer offers, it does not necessarily show that a particular coaching staff has it all figured out.
Where Hawkins failed was in garnering serious interest from the second tier players, in California and especially Texas. These are the top 100 players that end up at schools like Arizona and Arizona State (or Missouri in the case of Texas recruits), but can definitely still ball. He also tended to lack focus on where he targeted recruits.
What has me most optimistic about this staff is that we are going after the top players, but we are also getting serious interest from the second tier players, often being their first offer (but not their last). Players like Jabari Ruffin, Brandon Beaver, Trey Keenan, Conner Crane, and others are the guys that we have been missing on the last few recruiting cycles. Additionally, the new staff has definitely gone national with offers, but California, Texas, Colorado, and Arizona make up the majority of players targeted. A focused recruiting strategy is going to benefit us.
Finally, the new staff's early offers to all the legit Colorado prep players is a refreshing change. I got tired of watching schools like Arizona State come into Colorado and offer several players while we seemed to drag our feet. Our record did not help in-state recruiting the last few classes, but the old staff's reluctance to offer most Colorado prep players early also really hindered our efforts around the state.