how ready the player is right now, and not a projection of how good they could be.

So a 5* recruit is projected to step in and immediately contribute, if not outright win a starting spot.

A 4* projects to contribute sooner rather than later, most likely as a backup at first.

3* and less are generally thought of as not being ready right away, but there is enough there to say after 1-3 years in a program that they could contribute.


But I think other (if not most) services at least attempt to project what a player's ceiling is, and not just how good they are right now.