Absolutely has SOMETHING to do with the grower.
Ime, I've never grown something that I considered subpar...all the plants I've grown have been fire in their own way....whether it's standout potency, flavor or both.
I do have limited experience, but so far my favorite strain I've grown was Jilly Bean from Mz Jill/tga....flavor, potency, beauty that plant had it all.
Csi's Bubblegum S1 was mid-level, maybe even lower level in potency, but a beautiful plant with an amazing Bubblegum flavor....definitely a great smoke.....definitely a strain I want to breed with eventually.
Not every single strain is gonna lead to knockout levels of potency, but other categories can make them winners.