Apples and Oranges
The 2.85 class how many were from Illinois and how many panned out? This years class seems very heavy Florida and out of state. A 4 Illinois player might be a 3 Texas or Florida player. The competition is much better in those states so they might not shine as great against top tier competition as they would in Illinois football.
Yes, the class ranking doesn't seem bad in context, but the number of commits is propping up really low player quality vs. previous classes. This year's class has an average rating of 2.35 vs. prior class averages:
2010: 2.62
2011: 2.85
2012: 2.74
2013: 2.72
2014: 2.71
2015: 2.75
2016: 2.35
Source is rivals. This might be the worst class ever in terms of per player rating.
The 2.85 class how many were from Illinois and how many panned out? This years class seems very heavy Florida and out of state. A 4 Illinois player might be a 3 Texas or Florida player. The competition is much better in those states so they might not shine as great against top tier competition as they would in Illinois football.