Wide Receivers

[Recruiting Guru]

SMU has a nice crew of receivers on its roster this year, but remember that the Ponies will lose Comet Cunningham, Cody Cardwell, Billy Ford and Johnnie Freeman after the 2002 season. So even with some youngsters in place (Jay Taylor, Trey Griffin, Cedric Vinson, and true freshmen Daniel Francis and James Elliott - and perhaps Anthony Barnett if they bump him outside), there is a need for some fresh bodies in next year's recruiting class.

Coach Bennett can stay pretty close to home if he likes and still land some top-flight receivers. Some of the top local wideouts:

Marvyn Byrd, 6-3, 200, 4.6, Flower Mound: evokes images of a young Keyshawn Johnson, Michael Westbrook or even David Boston .... not quite a speed burner, but simply too big and strong for most DBs to handle. Runs good, if not great, routes, has nice hands. Should excel at college level.

Steve Richardson, 6-2, 180, 4.4, Garland High: Speed, size and more speed .... will be hard to keep away from the big programs with his combination of size and quickness. Accelerates quickly out of his cuts, allowing him to increase the separation he could get simply through pure speed. Also can play special teams.

Champ Davis, 6-2, 200, 4.5, Plano West: Great name on a great player. Can run away from defenders and has great body control when battling for the ball. Can take a hit and play through .... rarely brought down on the first hit. Will be among the top wideouts in DFW this year.

Anthony Alexander, 6-2, 170, 4.55, South Grand Prairie: A little slender, but super fast and will get bigger as he gets older. From the same program that produced Texas WR B.J. Johnson.

Ra'shad Turner, 6-2, 165, 4.5, Marshall: wouldn't be counted on DFW lists, but I'm putting him on SMU's list because Marshall is in the heart of Bennett country. Another slim WR, but plays stronger than he looks. Great height, speed and hands. Consistenly loses defenders with convincing head/shoulder fakes. Stops and re-starts very quickly.

Marcus Brock, 5-10, 180, 4.4, Lindale: Another East Texas player Bennett's staff should look at, if for no other reason than that speed. Height is not extraordinary, but he's tall enough. Most dangerous player on Lindale offense.

Chris Ross, 6-2, 175, 4.6, Wylie: Decent prospect, but not likely to be coaches' top WR choice.

Kyle Ingraham, 6-8, 195, 4.7, San Antonio Clark: Way out of DFW, but gets mentioned because his brother swims at SMU, and therefore he's seen the campus, allowing SMU coaches an "in". Doesn't have SMU on his wish list yet. Coaches don't like the 4.7 in the 40, but they love his height.

William Dowdy, 6-2, 200, 4.5, Denton Ryan: Big, fast, tough. Very good hands. Excellent downfield blocker, which is important in Ryan offense when QB Battle tucks the ball and takes off. Also could play defense.

[Hilltopper]

I hope the young guys this year grab ahold of Comet, Cardwell, Billy Ford and the rest of the veteran receivers and learn everything they can, so they're ready to take over and lead the troops in future seasons.

[HorsePower]

Wouldn't Ingraham, with an added 40 pounds, make a hellacious tight end?

[PonyTales]

Texas got three commitments yesterday, including the 6-foot-5 receiver from Brenham. I forget his name, but he's supposed to be a stud.

[Recruiting Guru]

His name is Limus Sweed, and he also might end up playing safety. Either way, he should be a very good college player.

[Fox 7 Sports]

I've caught Ingraham in person a couple of times and he's really impressed. There's no arguing that his speed is less than optimal, but the kid has great hands and knows how to use his long bady to get up for balls. If the kid can learn to run precise routes, there's no reason to believe he can't play receiver at the next level. His size can compensate for his lack of blazing speed.

The play that really caught my eye for Kyle was at the Alamodome last fall in a playoff game against Westlake, he went up for an underthrown ball and stole the pass with a one-handed grab away from three Chap defenders. All I could think was 'Dang!'.

As for his potential at TE, he would have to gain some serious muscle to be prepared to block Division IA DEs. But its something that could be possible in the future.

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[Guest]

I read on PonyFans.com that Ingraham's brother swims for SMU. Do you know if he has any interest in joining his brother on the Hilltop?