re: Here's a stat that is hard to believe (oh, how the mighty have fallen -- and keep falling)

Bob Devaney was the best college football coach in America in his day while at Nebraska, then Tom Osborne, his protege, followed him, and was also great!
Devaney recruited from the ENTIRE country, and used the red-shirt system, especially with his linemen, to develop them physically. He figured out how to have his team legally practice nearly year-round.