That's a fair enough criticism, the nature of this business is that you are basically obligated to make some prediction about local kids, whether one has enough information about them or not.
However, in the Thomas (and Kirkland) situation it is quite clear that people around those two kids were intentionally spreading misinformation for the purposes of manipulating the University of Miami to their own personal benefit. It's hard to get things right when presumably reliable sources such as high school coaches and those around them are distorting the truth to their own personal advantage. Everybody gets played sometimes.
Thomas and Kirkland, like all BTW kids before them, were very silent about their intentions, and it was therefore only possible to assess the situation from the words of their coaches, family members, and advisers, all of whom were either in on the scheme or had been led to believe the lies spread by the Harris camp.
