The Athletic - Recruiting Mailbag

[1983 Cotton Bowl]

This Q&A was in the Athletic this morning. Nice to read stuff like this:

Hi, Grace, starting next year, does TCU or SMU have a higher potential recruiting ceiling? Both are private schools in the DFW area with TCU being in the Power 5 longer, but I feel like SMU’s donors will “pony up” more money for NIL. — Nathan S.

LOL, I like what you did there.

I’m taking SMU. Although TCU is in good hands with coach Sonny Dykes, and it’s hard to ignore the Horned Frogs after the season they had last year, SMU just seems to have more buzz. There is excitement about joining a power conference, and SMU supporters will be ready to pay up to stay competitive in the name, image and likeness space. Look no further than last season, when they launched the Boulevard Collective in August 2022, which was set to pay SMU athletes $3.5 million, a source told The Athletic’s Chris Vannini. Then in September, when it was announced that SMU will join the ACC next year, a small group of 30 donors raised more than $100 million in seven days to help offset the TV money SMU will be missing out on for its first nine years in the league. Boosters plan to give more than $200 million when all is said and done.

It won’t be easy for SMU to compete against the likes of Florida State, Clemson, North Carolina and Miami in the recruiting landscape right off the bat, but if SMU and TCU are in power conferences with the same access to talent in their backyard, I’m giving the nod to the program that seems to be ready to rumble from an NIL standpoint.

[Thumper]

Glorious.

[ShantyBoy]

Exactly what the toads have been working to prevent.