There has pretty much always been that correlation. The two biggest keys to recruiting that dictate if a kid is "can't miss" or not relies upon TALENT and WORK ETHIC. However, even then, sometimes injuries or off-field issues can derail the careers of "can't miss" guys.
Furthermore, key factors that undermine MUCH of ANY analysis based on recruiting rankings are the following:
- Recruiting "stars" are still rather subjective
- Recruiting "stars" are rather a coarse measure of "talent"
- There are simply too many talented players out there and too few good talent evaluators ... there just aren't enough hours in a day for every kid to get adequately evaluated
- The "resolution" of team recruiting rankings is only accurate to about the top 10 or 15
- Considering that even casual fans could guess which teams are most likely to land the top talent in the recruiting game, the correlation is rather TRIVIAL.
- Such "star-based" analysis doesn't account for individual coaching staffs who have a particularly keen eye for talent. Such coaching staff's, in many respects, are not the norm. I'd count Ferentz and Co as being such "anomalies."