I get your generalized advice. You're making the assumption UL isn't doing Sales 101 in our back yard. You and I don't know what they've done. But to make the assertion that they've done nothing... just because an athlete doesn't have an offer from us, or even doesn't show we're interested... wouldn't be my first assumption.
One thing about recruiting that is also similar to other business sales... I prefer my sales isn't visible to others... unless that visibility benefits me in the sale. And when it comes to recruiting offers... they aren't as arbitrary as sales proposals. You don't give everyone a public offer. You are correct that there's a level of proposal that is a useful sales vehicle. But you don't burden your proposal resources with deep diving content for longshot opportunities. Do not assume our recruiters (and our legion of volunteers) aren't canvassing the talent... especially local... determining who to focus on... and how much.
I've read and been told a litany of supposed recruiting mistakes we've made in the past. Most I take with a grain of salt. Why? I have dozens of personal experiences where these supposed "misses" were generated by someone with a personal beef with UL. I had a few beers with a Tech recruiter many years ago... and he told me that UL does great assessments of Louisiana talent... and fights hard for recruits. He gave me reasons I don't want to post as our biggest setbacks with certain recruits. His information seems to line up with issues we've had. I don't think Napier (so far from what I've heard) is following in the usual pattern.