Busts can be interpreted many different ways. Many at the collegiate level interpret a player to be a bust if they underperformed based on the high school star rating they came in with.
Recruiting services On3, Rivals, ESPN and 24/7 Sports are the most referred to sources when it comes to fans getting information on high school football recruits. All services use a star system in which players are categorized on a one through five star basis with one star being the lowest value and five being the highest.
Just like the NFL when it comes to draft busts however, the same exists in college football. And often times it’s determined by if a player had a lot of stars coming out of high school and underperformed during his time in college, transferred or other things.