is d3 not a part of HD colonel?
i would think that marginal WE players might be even more valuable at D1, as many incoming frosh have great skill ratings to start, but i cant really comment on that as i havent been at D1 in 3+ years.
but joe is definitely right at D2 and D3. many coaches seem to ignore any recruit with WE less than 25 and, as long as that continues, such players will be good values and i agree they are the moneyball players of HD. the other side of that is that, as joe said, you have to understand when and how these low WE can help you. i think joe and i agree that inexperienced coaches would be better off avoiding low WE players until they fully understand the pros and cons.
the keys, i think are: being able to start them right away or at least play them alot, and having 2 or 3 focused practice areas with most other skills maxed out or unimportant.
in total rebuild situations, im pretty sure that the quickest path to high prestige is going to include some low WE guys. there are many ways to succeed in HD, but some of these low WEers are such good value when you can start them that i feel fairly confident in saying that if you dont utilize them, you will lag behind the coach who does.