Of course, we know any time a kid gets an offer from a Bama or Ohio State they suddenly gain a star, or so it seems.
i often see this idea, and it's fairly obvious, but i've never understood why this is shocking or frowned upon by people.
this is/was true of usc/texas in the mid 00's, miami/fsu in early 00's, etc.
there's 2 things at play, imo.
1 - when the top schools are turning their attention towards you, these 'recruiting gurus' will likewise pay more attention to you, which theoretically, will give them a better gauge of your abilities.
2 - and this is likely where most people find fault, though it seems fine to me, if the best teams (by perception or otherwise) are recruiting you, then you must be among the best yourself.
this obviously isn't how it work, but an example would be if a kid is going pro, and he has a bunch of cfl teams coming by and looking at him, he might be a middling player. but when the nfl teams, especially the better talent evaluating teams (again, perception or otherwise) come looking and calling, the kid will start to get more recognition as a top overall player. and rightly so.
i'm perfectly fine with kids getting second looks from the recruiting sites and bumps when the big schools start getting involved. cause then it means the people who will be fired if they miss to many think that kid is good. and if they think so, i'm more inclined to believe it.