Life insurance for Richard Bartel

[Thumper]

Sterling Harris played right tackle all year, and Grant Eidson played guard and deep-snapped.

Who's Meachum?

[Thumper]

Bryan Turner is as strong as any high school player I've ever seen. I bet he could hold his own at tackle, if they asked him to. But the papers here say he's a guard.

[PerunaPunch]

...Or a center. Would be sweet to have a 300 lb center.

[Fresh]

You're really set on a line that goes 300-plus all the way across, aren't you?

[PerunaPunch]

Damn straight!

'Diesel' Boren is already up 10 lbs. to a legit 290, so he's practically there. Turner probably will be at 300 by fall. Burley's already there at 310. Just bring on 'Big Daddy' Martin and I can die content.

I guess my fixation with the 300 lb. Frosh line stems from having had to live through Rossley's Run & (ahh) Shoot years.

[Smuboy]

Chad Meachum is a redshirt freshman who has the height and weight (6-4, 275+ lbs), quick feet and sound technique to see some playing time next fall. As a high school senior, he was first team All-District in District 21-5A (which includes Eisenhower, Nimintz and Aldine) and won the Landrum Award as outstanding offensive lineman in the SBISD distict. He held his own in the fall and is expected by the coaching staff to come in at 285 lbs in the fall.

[Otto]

" 'Diesel' Boren is already up 10 lbs. to a legit 290, so he's practically there. Turner probably will be at 300 by fall. Burley's already there at 310. Just bring on 'Big Daddy' Martin and I can die content. "

And from what I hear, Caleb Peveto is now 6'4", 275 and (unlike the rest of the outgoing seniors) working hard in the team's offseason workout program to add size and strength.

Is it possible that the entire starting offensive line in a couple of years will come from a single recruiting class? That's some serious recruiting!

[DallasDiehard]

5 starting linemen in one class would have to be some kind of a record!

[SmuCommitt]

Hey I know one thing for sure, you can forget Turner at tackle. He is a center/guard all the way. Plus he is only 6'2'' not really as tall as you would like for your tackles to be. As for him being 300lbs, I dont think he will be coming into this fall at 300, and probably not ever. He can be a great center at 290lbs

[PerunaPunch]

SmuCommitt,

Having a big, dominating, bruiser for a center would be music to our ears. But to be honest, the difference between 290 and 300 is only a few trips down to Mr. Bailey's First & 10 for a Point Burger away.

You'll soon see what I mean. Looking forward to seeing all you guys in the Spring.

[whatasteve]

ah yes - First & 10 Point Burgers for all linemen!

[PX]

Are some of the guys entering in the Spring, or is Peruna Punch just getting really ahead of himself here?

[PerunaPunch]

Technical foul, 10 yards on PerunaPunch. You are correct PX. Now go pick up your yellow flag and pick on someone else.

[Ikus]

Maybe he was referring to seeing some of the new talent visiting spring workouts?

[PX]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by PerunaPunch:
<B>Technical foul, 10 yards on PerunaPunch. You are correct PX. Now go pick up your yellow flag and pick on someone else.</B></font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I dont mean to pick on you, Punch, but I just thought we were getting a little silly here. Moving guys to different positions and packing imaginary weight on them is bad enough. Pencilling them into the starting lineup before they arrive, or hoping to watch them practice here before they graduate high school is really getting ahead of ourselves. I didnt want to say anything earlier, because everyone accuses me of being cynical, but this business was getting too silly.
I guess 5 starters from one class would be a record, since there are only 5 starters on the offensive line, but so what? Its not like that hasnt happened before in other places. And you guys are assuming this is going to happen before any of your projected starters have even had their senior prom, yet.
Call me cynical if you have to, I wont argue, but I had to try to inject a little sanity into all this. The truth is that most offensive lineman should be redhsirted as true freshmen, and thats the way it has been for quite some time. I think we redshirted 8 this past year. The last true freshman to play signifigant minutes on the line here was David Richards, and he was a bit of a special case. (before someone yells at me about Grant Eidson, I know he played, but mostly as a deep snapper on special teams,) Let these guys practice a bit before you build a case to house their Outland Trophy.

And I might add there isnt anything magical about the number 300. I wanted to bring this up awhile back when you were talking about Jerry Ball, but I let it slide. Contrary to what you were saying, Ball never weighed 300 pounds when he was here. The most he weighed at SMU was 285, and then the coaches made him lose weight. At 270 Jerry was strong enough to stuff the run, and he was so fast he was a holy terror rushing the passer and pursuing running backs outside. When he gained weight he slowed down noticeably, so the coaches told him to slim down. He didnt get bigger until he was in the NFL.

Its nice to be excited about some good players coming to SMU, but try to keep it within the realm of physical reality. If you create these silly fantasies in your mind you're just setting yourself up for dissapointment.