Much has been made about the quality of recruits head coach June Jones and his staff have recruited to SMU since arriving in Dallas last January. But often overlooked is the fact that part of the reason for Jones’ success as a college coach has been his ability to discover lesser-known players and convince them to play for him as walk-ons.

Travis Carlile plans to major in chemistry at SMU, with an eye toward medical school (photo by Carlile family).

One such player who will join the Mustangs when they gather for preseason workouts in August is Travis Carlile, a running back from North High School in Evansville, Ind. A versatile athlete who starred at running back, defensive end and on special teams, Carlile rushed for 753 yards, had 26 tackles and four sacks, and averaged 23.9 yards on kickoff returns in six games as a senior.

“I found out about SMU during my sophomore year,” said the 5-foot-11, 200-pound Carlil, who has benched 300 pounds and squatted 450, “but not for football, more for academics. I ended up applying, and it came down to SMU and a (Div. III) school in Indiana: Wabash College.”

Carlile’s résumé includes wide-ranging athletic accomplishments, including four varsity letters in football, track (he ran sprints, and threw the shot put and discus), baseball (catcher/outfielder as a sophomore) and wrestling, in which his honors included all-conference and sectional champion honors. He is a member of the National Honor Society, was nominated to be in Who’s Who Among America High School Students, has twice been elected class president and was elected Region II vice president of Health Occupation Students of America (HOSA), which is no surprise for someone who plans to major in chemistry and then attend medical school. The NHS valedictorian who graduated first in his class with a 4.0 GPA, Carlile narrowed his choices to SMU and Wabash after starting the process of choosing a college by considering an elite group of universities.

“I looked at Harvard, Brown, West Point and Air Force,” he said, “but I was disqualified from West Point and Air Force because I’m ‘green-difficient color blind.’ (I can see green — my high school’s colors are green and black.) Butler, in Indianapolis, and Jacksonville looked at me, as well, but I wasn’t really interested.

“I went to Harvard for the Harvard-Yale game. That was awesome, but it was freezing cold, and I was miserable. Then, when I talked to the Harvard coaches, they said ‘now you have to get accepted,’ which was going to be hard, because it’s such a tough school to get into and since they had such a large applicant pool.”

After narrowing his choices to SMU and Wabash, Carlile and his father visited the Hilltop.

Carlile rushed for 753 yards as a senior, despite playing just six games and playing in a pass-heavy offense (photo by Carlile family).

“I had no contact with the SMU coaches until April, which is really late, so I’m really fortunate to be on the team. When we came down for my visit, we talked to the coaches in morning and gave them my films, and then went on the tour. When we were taking the tour, I loved it. The campus is beautiful and I felt very comfortable. I told my dad that I was coming here, whether I played football or not. I wanted to play, but I wasn’t choosing SMU because of football. I just knew it’s where I wanted to be.

“After the tour, we went back to see the coaches, and I was hoping the coaches liked me. (Running backs) Coach (Wes) Suan introduced me to the other coaches, which I took as a good sign, and he said they liked my film. He told me he didn’t have a scholarship, but they wanted me as a preferred walk-on.”

Carlile said the offense in which he played at NHS had some similarities to Jones’ Run-and-Shoot, and said he thinks that familiarity with some of Jones’ offensive concepts might have helped his case with the coaches.

“We ran a spread-style offense, and I think that’s part of why the coaches liked me,” he said. “I’m used to pass-protecting, because we passed the majority of the time. I didn’t touch the ball more than 10-15 times per game, but I averaged about seven yards a carry — that kind of helped make up the difference.”

Carlile said he has spent his summer following his new coaches’ requests for him: work out, get in shape and show up ready for practice.

“I’ve been working out pretty hard,” he said. “The coaches didn’t say anything about redshirting, so I plan to compete right away. My goal is to make the travel team, and I know my best chance for that, at least this year, is through special teams. That’s what I’m shooting for.”

Regardless of how his first season at SMU turns out, Carlile said he knows he made the right choice.

“The academics at SMU are second to none,” Carlile said. “I wanted the academics to be awesome, and the school I picked had to have a pre-med track — I’m going to major in chemistry. I had a lot of information before I visited, but for me, it’s just a feeling you get. When we got down there, it just felt right. I wanted to be in a big city, but not too big, and Dallas is a great place. When we walked on campus, it was comfortable — it was obvious SMU had everything I’m looking for."