re: I know there are a lot of people who don't buy into "stars"

To me NSD consists of 2 goals for a lot of schools.

1) Sign the best players for your team.
2) Get as much press as you can.

I'm happy with the job Les does at LSU because he goes after the best players who fit into his team. He focuses heavily on character and chemistry along with skill. I've never seen him court the media which plays to LSU's favor most of the time. With the hits our program took losing Ryan Perriloux, Co-DC failure, no QB, Crowton failures the players and coaches exhibited great cohesiveness and commitment which delivered a nice 11-2 season. With the recent additions of recruits and new a new OC we are positioned for a nice run in 2011.

So no, I don't pay much attention to the media driven star system.