On the contrary, hes actually got a reputation as a great recruiter. In fact, that was one of the biggest things said about him when he was brought in.
I agree RB has been a struggle up until this year, but I'm starting to think thay correlates more with poor OC and poor OL play. As for recruiting, the critics like to hang their hat on Ives, but he was a project grab in a transition class. Since then, hes brought in some well regarded talent. And as has been pointed out, he does a lot of work on many other recruits, too, not just RBs.
EJ has been a whipping boy unnecessarily for a few seasons and Emmetts rise from afterthought to all conference back under him should be enough to put that to bed, but some just can't seem to let go.