By John Peres / Special contributor to PonyFans.com

SMU‘s first commitment of 2014 is linebacker Lance Cottrell of Plano West High School. That he was the first to commit to the Mustangs makes sense, considering he received his scholarship offer when he as a freshman in high school.

Lance Cottrell will move from defensive end to linebacker for his senior season at Plano West High School, in part because of his speed and ability to make plays in open space (photo by Plano West HS).

Plano West head coach Mike Hughes said he was a little surprised that Cottrell committed so early, but said it speaks to the growth of the SMU program in recent years, and Cottrell’s certainty about his decision.

“Yeah, I was surprised — usually our guys don’t commit that early,” Hughes said. “But June Jones has done a great job at SMU. He’s doing things the right way.

“(Other college) teams backed off a little after Lance committed, but some of them, when they came to our school in the spring to see other players … a lot of them asked about Lance, too. I’m very up-front with them. I don’t waste time, and I don’t want to waste their time. I told them he’s committed to SMU, and to me, if you make a commitment, it’s a done deal.”

Ranked by ESPN as one of the top 100 linebackers in the country, Cottrell said he is looking forward to being a Mustang, but it was SMU’s Cox School of Business that really caught his eye.

“Its going to be great playing for SMU, but I am about academics first,” Cottrell said. “I would really to get a degree in accounting or finance.”

SMU coaches have made a habit in recent years of recruiting high school defensive ends like Stephon Sanders, Robert Seals, Lincoln Richard and Jarvis Pruitt and turning them into linebackers. Cottrell will make the same move, although he’ll do it a year before he arrives on the Hilltop. Plano West head coach Mike Hughes said that Cottrell, a defensive end in 2012, will stand up as a linebacker in 2013, and already has shown indications that he can make the transition.

“Lance, last year, played defensive end,” Hughes said. “We moved him to linebacker in the spring, and I really liked what he did, so much so that he will be one of starting outside linebackers in the fall. We wanted to find out in the spring if he can make the move and play well in space, and he can.”

Cottrell’s older brother, Bryce, is defensive end at the University of Texas, and has been very supportive of his little brother throughout the recruiting process.

“Bryce told me to go for what I really love,” Cottrell said. “We are very family-oriented. Watching his recruitment inspired me to follow my heart.”

Both Cottrells switched positions while playing for Hughes — Lance is moving from defensive end to linebacker, while Bryce was moved from linebacker to defensive end.

“The strongest part of Lance’s game is his ability to rush the passer,” Hughes said. “What I like about him is his ability to run and make plays, so when I moved him to linebacker, I knew he had those abilities. At that point, I had to find out if he could make plays in open space. Being an outside linebacker, teams are going to try to throw bubble screens and that kind of thing, so you have to be able to make plays in space.

“I also wanted to see if he could play with technique, play the run and drop into coverage, but he did everything well. I thought he did a great job.”

Cottrell was said he is very impressed by SMU defensive coordinator Tom Mason, who is recruiting Cottrell, because Mason runs the defense in which Cottrell will play for the Ponies. Mason gave Cottrell some excellent insight on how he would be utilized once he joined the team.

What the Mustangs are getting in Cottrell is a natural pass-rushing outside linebacker. At 6-2 and 205 pounds, he is deceptively strong. He can bench press 320 pounds and squat 390. He uses that strength and his speed (Cottrell has been clocked at 4.67 in the 40-yard dash) to go after the ball like they stole it from him and wraps up well once he gets there.

Last season, he recorded 40 tackles, five sacks and 18 quarterback pressures. He runs a 4.67 forty currently. Once he puts on some good weight, he is going to be a legitimate threat to any quarterback across from him.

Cottrell said he expects to contribute to the Mustangs on and off the field, and said he expects to improve more as a player, even before his senior season starts.

“I think I have good leadership skills,” Cottrell said. “I am fast, agile and pretty good at containment. One thing I am working on right now is my cover skills. But I should have that fixed by the end of the summer. I believe it is important for me to play my part on the team.”

Hughes said that one reason he thinks Cottrell will succeed at the college level is his ability to overcome challenges. After all, as a defensive end, Cottrell often found himself doing battle with offensive tackles with a size advantage of around 100 pounds.

“Lance won’t get as big as his brother, but he’ll get to maybe 6-3, 230, and he’s a strong kid — one of the strongest guys on our team,” Hughes said. “We didn’t usually line him up straight over the offensive tackle (because of the size difference), but he held his own in there. He’s quick and strong, and does a good job playing off blocks.

“Lance is the kind of guy you want on your team. He’s very smart, a really likeable kid, and he wants to be good. He works as hard as anyone we’ve got, and he’ll do that at SMU, too.”