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Low number of committments

PostPosted: Tue Sep 10, 2019 8:37 am
by JasonB
Not sure if this has been discussed...

But I think the low number of commitments we have right now is in order to give the 40+ walkons an opportunity to earn a scholarship.

I bet that during or immediately after the season, a handful will be put on a scholarship and then several others will transfer out with a recommendation that allows them to get a scholarship at a smaller program.

This combined with the fact that we are obviously set up to have a really good year and will attract higher level recruits than we would have previously explains the lower number of commits thus far this season.

Just a thought...

Re: Low number of committments

PostPosted: Tue Sep 10, 2019 2:15 pm
by Pony81
I think the coaches believe they have a good team and by year end will be in a much better place to recruit the high 3 star guys they really want. If we win 8+ games, we will have a rising program to sell to recruits.

Re: Low number of committments

PostPosted: Tue Sep 10, 2019 6:35 pm
by Charleston Pony
I think you are right but I would also add that we don't know who might show up in the transfer portal. That change is a huge opportunity area, especially if most of the DFW "natives" find immediate success here.

Re: Low number of committments

PostPosted: Sat Sep 14, 2019 11:05 am
by ojaipony
Charleston Pony wrote:I think you are right but I would also add that we don't know who might show up in the transfer portal. That change is a huge opportunity area, especially if most of the DFW "natives" find immediate success here.


As we build, we should rely less and less on that BUT for right now it's a gold mine for us. I'd hold maybe 5 spots for transfers like that. Especially for CBs (mental maturity is huge) and DT (physical maturity).

Re: Low number of committments

PostPosted: Sun Sep 22, 2019 3:25 pm
by Dark Horse
Especially after beating TCU (damn, I love writing that), I assume the coaches think they're primed to go after a different level of athlete in the second half of the season.

Re: Low number of committments

PostPosted: Mon Sep 23, 2019 4:38 pm
by Charleston Pony
Dark Horse wrote:Especially after beating TCU (damn, I love writing that), I assume the coaches think they're primed to go after a different level of athlete in the second half of the season.


Agree that Saturday's win has got to help on the trail. SMU is back! (provided we sustain the success and finish strong this season). Certainly would not hurt if we could pick up a lot of bandwagon fans to improve the gameday atmosphere at Ford.

Re: Low number of committments

PostPosted: Mon Sep 23, 2019 7:09 pm
by SMU_Alum11
I'm very nervous of the number of fans, despite it being family weekend, at the Tulsa game. We all know Tulsa doesn't travel so it's going to feel really empty. I just hope a few random fans and some of the closet SMU alums finally come out and support the team.

Re: Low number of committments

PostPosted: Mon Sep 23, 2019 8:06 pm
by DanFreibergerForHeisman
SMU_Alum11 wrote:I'm very nervous of the number of fans, despite it being family weekend, at the Tulsa game. We all know Tulsa doesn't travel so it's going to feel really empty. I just hope a few random fans and some of the closet SMU alums finally come out and support the team.

Expect at least 4000-5000 more than typical because of the Dallas uniforms though...

Re: Low number of committments

PostPosted: Mon Sep 23, 2019 8:29 pm
by SMU_Alum11
DanFreibergerForHeisman wrote:
SMU_Alum11 wrote:I'm very nervous of the number of fans, despite it being family weekend, at the Tulsa game. We all know Tulsa doesn't travel so it's going to feel really empty. I just hope a few random fans and some of the closet SMU alums finally come out and support the team.

Expect at least 4000-5000 more than typical because of the Dallas uniforms though...


lol as much as I liked the uniforms, I really don't think it has any impact on attendance. I've always said that they really need to do a door to door ticket sales in the local area and obviously keep winning.

Re: Low number of committments

PostPosted: Tue Sep 24, 2019 10:28 am
by JasonB
Look at historical TCU attendance as a reference. They hit 20K consistently when they were winning 8-9 games per season every year. When they got LT and bumped to 10 win seasons, the attendance jumped to 30K.

TCU was ranked #25 this week, has a pattern of winning, and played a local rival in a stadium that had plenty of empty seats.

That is the reality. The longer the win string continues, our attendance will slowly grow. For Tulsa, we normally get what, 10-12K for that game? I would expect a bump to 15-17K and that is about it. SMU Attendance will be a slow growth proposition, it won't be a sudden thing unless we are raked high in the polls.

Dykes is going to recruit based on the school, the opportunity to play in front of friends and family, and our new facilities. Attendance isn't going to play into that at all as long as he can sell the growth of the program.

Re: Low number of committments

PostPosted: Tue Sep 24, 2019 12:12 pm
by PonyPride
Dark Horse wrote:Especially after beating TCU (damn, I love writing that), I assume the coaches think they're primed to go after a different level of athlete in the second half of the season.

That was the explanation Sonny Dykes gave at his radio show 4

Re: Low number of committments

PostPosted: Tue Sep 24, 2019 1:00 pm
by Charleston Pony
JasonB wrote: For Tulsa, we normally get what, 10-12K for that game? I would expect a bump to 15-17K and that is about it.


Attendance for our last 5 home games vs Tulsa has been 14,930 18,217 15,336 19,329 (the year we won the CUSA West and played at UCF in Championship Game) and 15,324. Tulsa is, after all, the smallest private school in the AAC so any fans they bring are to be considered a bonus

Re: Low number of committments

PostPosted: Tue Sep 24, 2019 2:53 pm
by indianmustang
looks like lot of players at other schools are reaching out to Dykes,i guess they are waiting for the No contact period to finish or contacting their old coaches

Re: Low number of committments

PostPosted: Tue Sep 24, 2019 9:55 pm
by Water Pony
I have watched this site for a long time and our self loathing is a frequent theme by some.

However, I see more than a brighter future, based on Sonny and his vision for success. It is apparent that Sonny is committed to SMU for the long term, while he is effectively recruiting for Dallas' Division 1 and hometown team, SMU. He is genuine, talented and able to target the athletes, who have been unavailable to us for 30 years. BTW, he is a hell of a FB coach.

Well done, Sonny

Re: Low number of committments

PostPosted: Wed Sep 25, 2019 10:33 am
by Terry Webster
And I have a feeling he is here for the long run....not looking to move on.