It absolutely matters that it isn't the same roster and you absolutely get credit in the eyes of recruits if a lot of the guys from the prior roster were a part of the improvement. Recruits want to see player development. Why? Because the NFL wants to see player development. They want to see metrics. "RB1 had X amount of yards on Y amount of carries and Z number of touchdowns before Deion. After Deion, there was a 60% improvement in those numbers." That signals to recruits that they might be able to go from 4 star athlete to 1st or 2nd round pick in 3 or more years at Colorado. It tells recruits that Deion can take a bunch of spares from a 1-11 team and start getting them national attention and in the conversation for awards and draft picks in just one or two years and if he can do that for 2 and 3 star spares, just imagine what he can do for 4 and 5 stars. That matters a ton for future recruiting. So, great, CU got one whole year of excitement, money, and attention. But is there longevity there? Can Deion build a program? Going 4-8 with a completely different team doesn't give anyone any idea if he can develop talent. If anything, we saw him fade down the stretch and lose almost all of the early season momentum, as well as a decline in player performance (not to mention having his stars get banged up while losing). And...
This. "It's Division I football! This ain't IMG Academy." Look at none other than Sark at Texas for an example of how establishing a 5 Star Culture over time helps a program. College football isn't plug and play. It's about establishing and keeping long term momentum. He built a roster of mercenary athletes who wanted immediate results and those athletes and recruiting commits are already jumping ship.