I'll give him credit for recruiting depth at some positions where we sorely needed it. Zook's last couple of classes had way too many washouts. The problem was that a lot of Beckman's recruits aren't B1G caliber players. He definitely got some good players, but the overall talent level just wasn't there.
Overall, i don't think it's possible to say that the program was in a better place because of Beckman due to all of the on and off field embarrassments. If Beckman walked into a dumpster fire, what did he leave behind? This program is nationally seen as a laughingstock because of Beckmans's tenure, the timing of both his and MT's firing, the Cubit contract, and the extended AD search. Lovie is walking into a toxic waste dump.
That being said, If I have faith in anyone to turn this thing around, it's JFW. Which MAC coach would we have ended up with, had this hire been attempted during the normal coaching carousel. Hiring Lovie is nothing short of a miracle, because of the positive national press we're going to get. Lovie gives this program the instant credibility we've lacked for years.