No more excuses, SMU should be competive with Baylor

[feelthehorsepower]

I think Burcham is still an unknown at this point, and almost everything hinges on his development in the short term IMHO. I'm not sure if there's an elite RB on the roster, and I don't know if Randolph can play on this level even thought he looks the part.

But assuming Burcham works out, I think this should be an 8 win team by the simple virtue that it's the most size, speed and talent that we've put on the field in 25 years. So am curious to know where you think the 8 losses will come from.

Heard this exact same rhetoric before this season, people deluding themselves into thinking that we'd lose a bunch of key players but somehow be better because of a bunch of DITRs that look good during touch football practice. We're going 0fer in OOC play and might win 4 AAC games at most.

If you're so negative why don't you just go cheer for Texas or some other team then? Leave us be, we don't need your negative attitude!

[PerunaPunch]

I think Burcham is still an unknown at this point, and almost everything hinges on his development in the short term IMHO. I'm not sure if there's an elite RB on the roster, and I don't know if Randolph can play on this level even thought he looks the part.

But assuming Burcham works out, I think this should be an 8 win team by the simple virtue that it's the most size, speed and talent that we've put on the field in 25 years. So am curious to know where you think the 8 losses will come from.

We have Prescott Line and Traylon Shead is coming back. If shead can keep healthy we have a good running game, and Line should look more like Zach did in 2010.

I'm unconvinced that either is an elite running back. Jones was certainly very high on Shead prior to the start of the year. And who knows how good he would have been once the O Line started to gel a little bit and we got post our OOC schedule.

As for Line, I'd love it if he'd develop into Zach part II, but right now, I think he might be better suited at LB, where we need size inside.

Nlemchi is the most productive RB we currently have in the stable, and he's coming on strong after a couple of tough years off-the-field.

But one (or more) of those guys needs to step up next year.

In related news, I ran into Recruiting Guru at a recent basketball game and I asked him about the RB recruit from Houston. I said something like, "I don't know what to think about this kid from Houston, as he doesn't seem to fit what Jones looks for in running backs." Recruiting Guru said (paraphrased to the best of my recollection) that Durall reminded him of a young Shawnbrey McNeal, and he [McNeal] turned out to be pretty good in the R-n-S.

So I found that pretty interesting. The two have nearly identical size and speed. Durall is stronger, but McNeal ran for about 1000 more yards his Sr. year... Impressive highlights: http://www.hudl.com/athlete/3118031/hig ... autoplay=1

[sbsmith]

If you're so negative why don't you just go cheer for Texas or some other team then? Leave us be, we don't need your negative attitude!

Funny coming from a TCU/A&M fan.

[Stallion]

Yes Durall is EXACTLY like Shawnbrey
EXCEPT he was not a Nationally recruited Texas Top 50 recruits with offers from schools like Miami, Nebraska, A&M, OSU, Arkansas, Florida among many others;
EXCEPT he was not a Texas State Champion/Nationally ranked sprinters with a timed 10.45 in the 100 Meters-(I've seen a self reported 4.41 bandied about for Durall but I've also seen 4.62 actually listed and no track results to back that 4.41 up)
EXCEPT Durall didn't get a single offer worth talking about
EXCEPT Durall ran for 650 yards of so with about a 4.37 ypc and Shawnbrey had almost 1600 as a Junior
EXCEPT Shawnbrey didn't have to transfer to another school just to become a starter on his high school team
Yep EXACTLY like Shawnbrey

[Rebel10]

Shawnbrey ran like a 10.4 100 meters in high school so there might be a difference in speed.

[ponyinNC]

Yes Durall is EXACTLY like Shawnbrey
EXCEPT he was not a Nationally recruited Texas Top 50 recruits with offers from schools like Miami
EXCEPT he was not one of the Top sprinters in Texas (I've seen 4.41 bandied about fir Durall but I've also seen 4.62 actually listed and no track results to back that 4.41 up)
EXCEPT Durall didn't get a single offer worth talking about
EXCEPT Durall ran for 650 yards of so with about a 4.8 ypc and Shawnbrey doubled that.
Yep EXACTLY like Shawnbrey

I like being able to take a break from pf.com and know that Stallion is here to post exactly what I would have said.

Now back to my self-imposed banishment.

[Rebel10]

Come on fellas, this is getting more than tiresome. JasonB makes a well-reasoned point, and all you got is "shut up" because the facts don't happen to support your "fire June" agenda? If you want to pick on June, there's plenty of fodder. Go for it. But this "cupboard is bare" rhetoric is nonsense.

My critique of this lineup is that there are too many unprovens. But on paper, I agree that this lineup should be the most complete and (if nothing else, the most) athletic we've seen since the DP if if we can keep everyone unhurt, in school, and off suspension. But those are a lot of IFs.

I do agree that we need to get a couple of recruiting aces in here so that we can develop some depth behind these guys. And we need to be much more competitive in recruiting if we're ever going to take the next step forward.

FTHP, is the one that told Stallion the "Shut up" first and he is with the pro June Jones suck up group like you are.

[Grant Carter]

In related news, I ran into Recruiting Guru at a recent basketball game and I asked him about the RB recruit from Houston. I said something like, "I don't know what to think about this kid from Houston, as he doesn't seem to fit what Jones looks for in running backs." Recruiting Guru said (paraphrased to the best of my recollection) that Durall reminded him of a young Shawnbrey McNeal, and he [McNeal] turned out to be pretty good in the R-n-S.

So I found that pretty interesting. The two have nearly identical size and speed. Durall is stronger, but McNeal ran for about 1000 more yards his Sr. year... Impressive highlights: http://www.hudl.com/athlete/3118031/hig ... autoplay=1

I am curious, who is Recruiting Guru? Do other people know who he meant by that? Is this someone who is an SMU fan, an SMU coach/employee, someone who covers recruiting for a living, Stallion? Guessing it is not Stallion.

[feelthehorsepower]

If you're so negative why don't you just go cheer for Texas or some other team then? Leave us be, we don't need your negative attitude!

Funny coming from a TCU/A&M fan.

I hate Aggy and TCU, how can I be a fan of teams I despise?

[Stallion]

I actually posted some nice things about Durall on the recruiting sites and I'm about the only one who has until today. But it drives me nuts to see him compared to Shawnbrey. Kind of like Kaiser looked like a NFL 1st Round Draft pick when June firest saw him based on Junior film where he hit on about 45% of his passes. I'll go find what I said about Durall-here's what Iposted several weeks ago

Despite all the indifference about his commitment he really does have nice speed, explosive acceleration and cutting ability. I've seen a reported 4.41 Forty time-hopefully that's somewhat accurate but the ESPN profile which he includes in the video says 4.62. There is one impressive play in the highlites where he takes a draw play 80 yards and probably outran the secondary by 15-20 yards.

But I don't think for a minute that June Jones is going to play him at RB in passing situations except maybe in the limited role Collin LaGase had in this years offense. He's the type of player June can use in the slot that most other teams wouldn't take a second look at because of his size. Sometimes a 3 star in traditional offense is not a 3 star in a Run N Shoot offense and vice versa. June signs so many of these types of kids every year at Inside Receiver some are bound to produce

For a guy that didn't get the typical monstrous high school rushing stats-there's some impressive plays in the highlites. I know he transferred to a new school this year but you'd think they could have built those stats up a bit. I wonder if he missed games or shared the starting spot with another quality back.

I still wonder why if you were going to take an undersized athlete why didn't SMU offer the 5A Player of the Year Desmon White (finally offered and committed to TCU) and start working on a DeSoto pipeline. Hopefully, he has the last laugh as one of those Under the Radar type recruits June can turn into a quality Slot Receiver

[sbsmith]

I hate Aggy and TCU, how can I be a fan of teams I despise?

You get down on your knees for them way too much not to be a fan.

[skurtn]

*yawn*

[PerunaPunch]

Recruiting Guru is a sportswriter who used to occasionally post on PonyFans. I think he's from Austin and contributes to ESPN and some of the pro football sites. I assume he was in Dallas for the holidays. I didn't ask. Just said "hi" and chatted briefly about some of the incoming class.

Stallion, please refrain from getting your panties in a twist every time I post. There is a HUGE DIFFERENCE between somebody saying Durall "reminds" them of McNeal and saying Durall is the second coming of McNeal, which is what you're trying to accuse me of stating. All I said is that they were similar athletes with almost the exact same metrics. AND I also very clearly stated that Durall ran for something like 1000 yards less than McNeal.

Durall's highlight tape is very impressive, and I would be curious to know how many carries he got vs. McNeal's Sr. year and their respective YPC. I also don't know how their competition compares (I don't know anything about South Houston HS or who are in their district).

But anyway, I think Guru's point was that Durall is a more intriguing recruit than I was giving him [Durall] credit for, and that Jones was successful using this type of RB in the past.

The only point I was trying to make was that 1) one of our existing RBs needs to step up next year, and 2) the new guy coming in is potentially more intriguing than his size and offer list might suggest.

[Stallion]

from smumustangs.com

McNeal:
Senior: 139 carries for 1,441 yards 10.4 yards per carry
Junior: about 1556 as a junior on an unknown number of carries
(Rivals)

from Houston Chronicle

Durall:
Senior: 153 carries for 669 yards 4.37 yards per carry
Junior: 53 carries for 293 yards for 5.53 yards per carry

[SMU2007]

I hope we leave room for the statue we are going to need to build of the next coach who rebuilds this program once June leaves it as a bottom feeder in one of the worst conferences in the country.

Our recruiting is sh*t and has been for a couple classes. I love that all these guys with no offers are going to all be awesome. Being a fan doesn't require you to be an idiot. If it does, count me out. Carry on ponyfans.