should it matter how big of a high school a recruit goes to

For measures like height, weight, speed, bench, etc....no, it doesn't matter.

However, if you're evaluating film or looking at stats, yes it does matter in most cases. There are 1A stars who dominate on tape, but when they transfer to a 5A+ school, they're just an average player. That's b/c the bigger schools have a greater population/pool of students to select from to build a team.

Of course there are some guys in 1A or 2A who could still be a stud in FL 8A, but it's not like every 1A or 2A stud could dominate the same way at higher classifications, b/c they're going up against greater pools of talented athletes.

IF there were two DE's, one in 1A NC and one in 8A FL, who had identical measurables, (6'6", 250 lbs, 4.7 40yd, 350 lb bench, etc...) and stats, (85 Tackles, 25 sacks, 38 TFL's) I would be much more impressed with the 8A player in FL, b/c the quality of opponents he achieved those stats against was most likely much better.

While measurable are important, they are not the end all be all. The mental game is more important and it's hard to judge that mental aspect in shitty competition where a kid can just get by on his athleticism. Bigger schools tend to have more complex schemes and more competition for playing time.

It's easier to be amazing when you don't have to look over your shoulder knowing your backup could take your spot in lower divisions.

The gap is not as big as some people suggest. Sometimes there's not any disparity of difference in competition to an individual player. Especially guys with great speed. Most players are going to continue in their development in college, anyway. Many kids in your smaller high schools get little to no evaluation at all.

The best way to evaluate talent is with your own two eyes, not high school division or recruiting stars.